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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: drill · present · hide · tear · wind · tube

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. drill — army training
  4. present — the time now
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. tear — to rip
  7. drill — a practice
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tube — the underground
  14. present — there
  15. drill — the tool
  16. present — a gift
  17. wind — moving air
  18. tube — a container

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