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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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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: bore · racket · sharp · chip · hand · prune · tear · wind

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. hand — help
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bore — to drill
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bore — to tire
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. tear — from crying
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. hand — in cards
  16. chip — to eat
  17. sharp — clever
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wind — moving air
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. chip — for betting

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