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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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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: mine · tear · wave · wind · bay · kid

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. kid — child
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wind — to turn a key

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