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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: nail · land · cap · stand · tear · wind · board · lie

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cap — a hat
  3. land — to come down
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — moving air
  8. stand — to bear
  9. cap — of ice
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. land — ground
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. land — a country
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. lie — to recline
  18. tear — to rip
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cap — a lid
  23. board — a committee
  24. board — to get on

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