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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: wind · snap · lash · cell · wound · bore · tear · ground

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — to drill
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cell — in biology
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. tear — from crying
  19. ground — a position
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. tear — to rip
  23. ground — crushed
  24. wound — an injury

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