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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 · fork · stick · wake · drill · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. tear — to rip
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. fork — in a road
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — a trail
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. date — the fruit
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. drill — army training

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