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

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. wound — an injury
  3. board — to get on
  4. present — there
  5. board — a committee
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. present — the time now
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. present — a gift
  10. wind — moving air
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wound — an injury
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. pop — music
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — in football
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pop — soda

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