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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: bore · suit · fork · field · plane · cold · tube · tear

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. field — a subject
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. tube — a container
  9. suit — clothes
  10. cold — not warm
  11. field — for sport
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. field — farmland
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. suit — to fit
  17. plane — a tool
  18. bore — to drill
  19. suit — in cards
  20. tube — the underground
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. fork — in a road
  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