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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: stem · fork · tear · current · rock · shower · lie · kid

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. current — of water
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. tear — from crying
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — to recline
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rock — music
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. fork — in a road
  15. stem — to come from
  16. current — happening now
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. kid — child
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. rock — a stone
  23. current — electric
  24. tear — to rip

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