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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: wake · fork · last · tear · shower · dip · present · bulb

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bulb — for light
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. shower — to wash
  7. present — the time now
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — to sink
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. present — a gift
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bulb — for light
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. present — there
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. last — finally
  19. last — to go on
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. shower — rain
  24. wake — a trail

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