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

Word bank: wound · wind · club · tear · racket · board

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tear — to rip
  3. club — a group
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. board — to get on
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wind — moving air
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wound — an injury
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. board — a committee
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. club — for golf
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. club — for dancing
  18. wind — moving air

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