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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: tear · stem · drill · cue · mine · bear · fine · last

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. last — to go on
  3. fine — high quality
  4. last — finally
  5. fine — all right
  6. cue — for pool
  7. tear — to rip
  8. drill — a practice
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bear — the animal
  11. drill — the tool
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cue — a signal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. drill — army training
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. last — final
  21. stem — to come from
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. cue — a hint

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