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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · nail · rest · tear · file · snap · lean · patient

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. lean — thin
  3. tear — from crying
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. tear — to rip
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. lean — to bend
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. fork — in a road
  17. file — a document
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. nail — for a hammer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com