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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: wind · tear · hide · face · bore · cell

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bore — to drill
  7. face — to confront
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. cell — a phone
  13. face — part of the head
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wind — moving air
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cell — in a prison

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