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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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Word bank
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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 · ground · bass · firm · file · tear · lash · plane

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. ground — a position
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. plane — a tool
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. ground — crushed
  8. firm — steady
  9. fork — in a road
  10. file — a line of people
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bass — low music
  13. firm — decided
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. tear — from crying
  16. firm — a company
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. tear — from crying
  20. file — a document
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. fork — to eat with

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