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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: pound · bound · fork · bat · fall · rule · file · tear

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bound — certain
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. fork — in a road
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — a weight
  11. rule — a law
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rule — government
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. fall — to drop
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bound — obliged
  20. file — a tool
  21. bound — tied together
  22. fall — the season
  23. file — a document
  24. fall — to drop

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