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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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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: wave · pop · drill · bear · cabinet · saw · tear · wound

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. tear — to rip
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. pop — music
  5. pop — soda
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. drill — a practice
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. drill — the tool
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. drill — army training
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. saw — the tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bear — the animal

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