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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 116 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: bear · mate · drill · fork · file · face · cold · object

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. object — to protest
  3. drill — the tool
  4. mate — to breed
  5. bear — the animal
  6. face — to confront
  7. object — an aim
  8. file — a document
  9. face — part of the head
  10. cold — not warm
  11. file — a tool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fork — in a road
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. object — a thing
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. mate — a friend
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. mate — a partner
  22. face — to point toward
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — army training

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