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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: tear · wind · season · ball · fork · racket · wound · lie

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. season — of the year
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. wound — an injury
  7. season — in sport
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. tear — from crying
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. tear — to rip
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. ball — a dance
  24. racket — a loud noise

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