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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: wind · rule · tear · bat · bore · ball

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. bore — to tire
  3. rule — a law
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bat — the animal
  12. ball — a great time
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bore — to drill
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bore — gave birth

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