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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. tear — to rip
  4. spell — letters
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wind — moving air
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. spell — a short time
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bore — to tire
  18. rest — a break
  19. spell — magic
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bore — to drill
  24. rest — what's left

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