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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 116 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: stand · tear · lie · fork · drill · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. stand — to bear
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. drill — army training
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. drill — the tool
  9. lie — to recline
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. degree — from a university
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fork — in a road

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