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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: tear · nail · wound · chest · current · rest · saw · wind

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. wound — an injury
  4. current — electric
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wind — moving air
  7. current — of water
  8. tear — from crying
  9. chest — a box
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. chest — of your body
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. current — happening now
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. wound — an injury
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wind — moving air
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. chest — of your body
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wind — to turn a key

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