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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: ground · wind · cue · bound · tear · nail · swing · fall

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  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. bound — obliged
  2. fall — the season
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bound — certain
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — a position
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wind — moving air
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. tear — to rip
  17. swing — to play on
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a signal
  20. bound — tied together
  21. cue — a hint
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  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