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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pass — a permit
  8. wind — moving air
  9. row — a line
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. tear — to rip
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. row — to paddle
  16. squash — the sport
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. snap — to click
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. tear — from crying

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