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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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468
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: nail · tear · wind · land · present · pitcher · leaves · cabinet

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. land — to come down
  3. tear — to rip
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. present — a gift
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. land — ground
  8. present — there
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. tear — from crying
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. wind — moving air
  14. land — a country
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wind — moving air
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. present — the time now
  24. nail — for a hammer

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