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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 · tear · cue · cold · roll · nail · temple · rush

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rush — hurry
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. cold — an illness
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. cue — for pool
  12. roll — a list
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. roll — a cake
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cue — a signal
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cold — not warm
  24. fork — in a road

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