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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: hand · fork · wind · tear · bay · fall · net · rush

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. net — after costs
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. net — in sport
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. hand — help
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. net — for catching
  22. tear — from crying
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — part of the body

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