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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: fan · rock · fork · chest · tear · swing · date · rash

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. swing — to play on
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. chest — a box
  10. date — the fruit
  11. swing — music
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. tear — from crying
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rash — a series
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — a stone
  19. swing — in golf
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. rash — hasty
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. rash — on the skin

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