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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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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 · lie · trunk · bay · swing · wound · sharp · tear

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  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.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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. trunk — of an elephant
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. tear — from crying
  7. swing — in golf
  8. wound — an injury
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. lie — to recline
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wind — moving air
  15. swing — music
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. swing — to play on
  24. lie — an untruth

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