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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 120 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: hand · fork · chip · wind · tear · court · temple · lean

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. hand — in cards
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. lean — thin
  9. court — of law
  10. lean — to bend
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chip — to eat
  16. court — of a king
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. court — for sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — for betting
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. temple — a place of worship

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