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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 · kid · staff · fan · tear · bat · pass · degree

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. kid — child
  4. pass — a permit
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. staff — a stick
  8. degree — an amount
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. degree — temperature
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. staff — employees
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. tear — to rip
  18. staff — employees
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. fork — in a road
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — the animal
  24. tear — from crying

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