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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: mine · safe · fan · cold · wake · wax · wound · kid

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wax — to grow
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wound — an injury
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. kid — child
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. kid — to tease
  21. wake — a trail
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. mine — an explosive

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