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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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Word bank
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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 · wound · row · wind · drill · fork

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wind — moving air
  6. drill — the tool
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. drill — a practice
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. row — to paddle
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. drill — army training
  18. tear — to rip

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