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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: nail · bore · wound · fall · calf · last · game · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bore — to tire
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. last — final
  6. game — wild animals
  7. wound — an injury
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. game — a match
  10. fall — the season
  11. wound — an injury
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. wind — moving air
  18. last — finally
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fall — to drop
  22. last — to go on
  23. bore — to drill
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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