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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: wound · tear · wake · kick · tube · land · object · firm

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. firm — decided
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tube — a container
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. object — to protest
  9. firm — steady
  10. tear — from crying
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. tear — from crying
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — a thing
  15. firm — a company
  16. land — ground
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wake — a trail
  19. kick — in football
  20. land — a country
  21. land — to come down
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. tube — in a tire

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