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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: temple · wound · lean · wind · tear · race

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. wound — an injury
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. race — a contest
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tear — to rip
  12. lean — thin
  13. tear — from crying
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. race — humankind

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