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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: bay · wound · hand · sharp · bore · nail · race · tear

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. wound — an injury
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bore — to drill
  17. tear — from crying
  18. race — a contest
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — help
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bore — to tire

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