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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: wake · stand · prune · wind · safe · clip · board · mine

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. stand — to bear
  10. wake — a trail
  11. board — to get on
  12. prune — to trim
  13. board — a committee
  14. clip — a video
  15. mine — for digging
  16. prune — to trim
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wind — moving air
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. safe — out of danger

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