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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: wake · tear · face · drill · dip · fork · cold · bear

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  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. drill — the tool
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. tear — from crying
  6. drill — army training
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. dip — to sink
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. face — to confront
  12. bear — the animal
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — in a road
  16. face — part of the head
  17. drill — a practice
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. face — to point toward
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bear — the animal
  23. dip — a sauce
  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