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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 120 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: hide · cap · wind · mine · prune · face · tear · firm

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. tear — to rip
  4. face — to confront
  5. cap — a hat
  6. firm — a company
  7. face — part of the head
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. face — to point toward
  14. cap — a lid
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. firm — decided
  17. wind — moving air
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. mine — for digging
  20. firm — steady
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cap — of ice
  24. prune — the fruit

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