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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 120 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 · kid · fork · coach · wake · drill · lean · fine

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. drill — the tool
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. drill — a practice
  11. kid — child
  12. tear — from crying
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. wake — a trail
  19. fine — high quality
  20. drill — army training
  21. fine — all right
  22. lean — thin
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — before a funeral

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