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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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Word bank
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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 · tear · rash · spring · file · deal · fork · wave

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. file — a line of people
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. hand — in cards
  5. rash — hasty
  6. fork — in a road
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. rash — a series
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. file — a tool
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. hand — help
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. spring — a coil
  19. deal — to handle
  20. spring — of water
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. spring — the season
  23. file — a document
  24. tear — to rip

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