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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: cell · tear · fan · bore · cold · wake · wind · present

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cold — not warm
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bore — to tire
  10. cold — an illness
  11. present — a gift
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wind — moving air
  14. present — there
  15. cell — a phone
  16. present — the time now
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. fan — to cool the air

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