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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: kid · bat · lean · tear · mark · pass · fork · club

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. lean — to bend
  5. kid — child
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. pass — a permit
  12. club — a group
  13. tear — to rip
  14. club — for dancing
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bat — the animal
  19. mark — a grade
  20. fork — in a road
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. club — for golf
  24. mark — a trace

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