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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: hand · tear · fork · vault · wake · field · safe · squash

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. vault — a safe
  6. field — farmland
  7. wake — a trail
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — help
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. squash — the sport
  12. tear — to rip
  13. fork — in a road
  14. squash — to crush
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. field — for sport
  18. tear — from crying
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. field — a subject
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — a garden tool

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