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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 120 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: fall · rest · wind · current · fork · bound · lie · bat

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. fork — in a road
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. wind — moving air
  9. current — electric
  10. rest — what's left
  11. lie — to recline
  12. bound — certain
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. current — happening now
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rest — a break
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bound — tied together
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. current — of water

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