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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: drill · fork · tear · stem · deal · present · last · degree

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. degree — from a university
  4. tear — from crying
  5. drill — a practice
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. present — a gift
  9. present — there
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — to handle
  12. stem — to come from
  13. tear — from crying
  14. degree — temperature
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. last — to go on
  17. tear — to rip
  18. last — finally
  19. drill — the tool
  20. present — the time now
  21. degree — an amount
  22. last — final
  23. fork — in a road
  24. stem — of a plant

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