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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 116 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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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: wound · cap · stock · safe · lie · wake · wind · cold

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cold — an illness
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. lie — to recline
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — shares
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cap — of ice
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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