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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: fork · bear · cell · bay · pitch · tear · bulb · roll

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. roll — a cake
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cell — a phone
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. bulb — for light
  22. tear — from crying
  23. roll — a list
  24. fork — in a road

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