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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: chair · safe · fork · tear · hand · rock · wind · mark

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fork — in a road
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. hand — help
  14. mark — a trace
  15. rock — music
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. rock — a stone
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. tear — to rip
  24. mark — a grade

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