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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: stand · wound · land · wave · mine · cap · kid · sharp

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. land — a country
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cap — of ice
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cap — a lid
  12. land — ground
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. stand — to bear
  15. sharp — clever
  16. wound — an injury
  17. kid — child
  18. land — to come down
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. mine — for digging
  22. cap — a hat
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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