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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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Word bank
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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 · saw · tear · fall · drill · pop · fan · bass

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fall — to drop
  3. drill — the tool
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pop — music
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — a practice
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bass — low music
  12. pop — soda
  13. bass — the fish
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pop — to visit
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. saw — the tool
  24. fall — the season

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