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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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Word bank
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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: fork · wake · tear · game · stand · sharp · saw · hand

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. game — a match
  4. game — wild animals
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — in cards
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wake — a trail
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. fork — in a road
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. saw — the tool
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. stand — to bear
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. saw — the tool
  23. sharp — clever
  24. fork — to eat with

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