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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: row · wake · stand · tear · bear · fork · hand · staff

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  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. staff — employees
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. stand — to bear
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — to paddle
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. hand — help
  13. tear — from crying
  14. staff — a stick
  15. fork — in a road
  16. tear — to rip
  17. row — a line
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. staff — employees
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. hand — in cards
  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