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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: tear · game · fork · kid · fall · racket · pitcher · bear

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fall — to drop
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. bear — the animal
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. game — wild animals
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. fall — the season
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. game — a match
  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