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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: game · spring · land · wake · club · safe · tear · wind

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. spring — of water
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. wind — moving air
  5. club — for dancing
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. spring — a coil
  8. game — wild animals
  9. club — for golf
  10. land — ground
  11. spring — the season
  12. game — a match
  13. land — a country
  14. tear — from crying
  15. club — a group
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wake — a trail
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. tear — to rip
  22. land — to come down
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. wind — moving air

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