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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 · cell · march · lash · lie · root · land · fork

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fork — in a road
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. march — music
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. root — of a plant
  8. land — a country
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. root — the cause
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. tear — to rip
  13. cell — in biology
  14. tear — from crying
  15. lie — to recline
  16. root — of a word
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. cell — a phone
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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