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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: tear · prune · race · wound · wind · ruler

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. race — a contest
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — humankind
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wind — moving air
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wound — an injury
  18. 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