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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: bear · wound · leaves · tear · saw · lean · nail · cold

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. saw — the tool
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. lean — thin
  6. bear — the animal
  7. tear — from crying
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. wound — an injury
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. tear — from crying
  18. lean — to bend
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bear — the animal

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