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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 · kick · drill · tear · ground · firm

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — a practice
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — crushed
  6. tear — to rip
  7. firm — decided
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ground — a position
  11. wind — moving air
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. tear — from crying
  14. firm — a company
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. drill — the tool
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. kick — in football

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