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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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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: mine · pass · scale · bore · club · wound · wind · tear

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. wound — an injury
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. scale — in music
  9. club — a group
  10. bore — to tire
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wound — an injury
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pass — a permit
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. club — for golf
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bore — to drill
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. club — for dancing

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