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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 116 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: land · tear · pit · bass · wind · suit · cold · fork

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. tear — to rip
  7. suit — clothes
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. fork — in a road
  10. pit — in a race
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. land — a country
  15. cold — not warm
  16. suit — to fit
  17. land — to come down
  18. pit — a hole
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. land — ground
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. wind — moving air
  23. suit — in cards
  24. wind — moving air

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