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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: tear · drill · chair · wave · pop · wind

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pop — to visit
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. wind — moving air
  7. drill — a practice
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. pop — soda
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. drill — the tool
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. pop — music
  15. wind — moving air
  16. drill — army training
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wave — with your hand

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