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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 120 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: ground · wound · spell · lie · nail · present · tear · content

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. present — a gift
  8. tear — from crying
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. present — there
  11. ground — the earth
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. present — the time now
  15. spell — magic
  16. content — the amount
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ground — crushed
  19. lie — to recline
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. tear — to rip
  23. content — happy
  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