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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 · drill · rash · tear · ground · bear · land · current

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. land — to come down
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. land — a country
  7. tear — from crying
  8. ground — a position
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ground — crushed
  11. current — of water
  12. bear — the animal
  13. drill — army training
  14. rash — hasty
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wind — moving air
  17. land — ground
  18. rash — a series
  19. bear — the animal
  20. current — electric
  21. drill — the tool
  22. current — happening now
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. drill — a practice

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