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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: stem · tear · fork · file · chest · fall · hide · craft

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. file — a tool
  3. fork — in a road
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. stem — to come from
  6. file — a document
  7. chest — of your body
  8. tear — from crying
  9. craft — a skill
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fall — the season
  12. tear — to rip
  13. fall — to drop
  14. file — a line of people
  15. chest — a box
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. fall — to drop
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. craft — boats
  24. stem — of a plant

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