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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: pound · band · wind · lean · tear · drill

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. wind — moving air
  4. drill — the tool
  5. band — a ring
  6. drill — a practice
  7. pound — a weight
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. drill — army training
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. tear — from crying
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a music group
  17. tear — from crying
  18. lean — to bend

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