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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: bowl · deal · lean · land · tear · key · wind · pit

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. key — for a lock
  4. land — ground
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. tear — to rip
  8. key — the most important part
  9. wind — moving air
  10. lean — to bend
  11. key — in music
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. pit — in a race
  18. tear — from crying
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — a country
  21. deal — to handle
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. pit — a hole

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