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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: court · fork · pit · fine · file · tear · shower · leaves

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. tear — to rip
  3. fine — all right
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. fork — in a road
  7. court — for sport
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. shower — to wash
  10. court — of a king
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. file — a line of people
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pit — in a race
  17. fine — high quality
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. pit — a hole
  20. file — a tool
  21. tear — from crying
  22. court — of law
  23. shower — rain
  24. file — a document

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