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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: foot · bay · kid · fork · tear · rush · calf · pitcher

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. kid — to tease
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rush — hurry
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. tear — to rip
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fork — in a road
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. foot — a measure
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. tear — from crying
  21. kid — child
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. calf — of the leg
  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