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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 · bay · wind · ground · bore · last · wake · rush

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. ground — a position
  5. last — finally
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. last — to go on
  9. rush — hurry
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wind — moving air
  16. last — final
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bore — to tire
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. ground — the earth
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wake — a trail

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