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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 · firm · squash · rule · ground · wind · tear · rock

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. ground — crushed
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. ground — the earth
  7. tear — from crying
  8. firm — decided
  9. rock — music
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rule — a law
  14. rock — a stone
  15. rule — government
  16. ground — a position
  17. firm — a company
  18. wind — moving air
  19. squash — the sport
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. wind — to turn a key

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