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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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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: kick · race · date · tear · wind · wake · cold · safe

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  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. race — the arms race
  2. wind — moving air
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. date — the fruit
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cold — not warm
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kick — in football
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. wake — a trail
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. wind — moving air
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. race — a contest
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. race — humankind
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. safe — out of danger
  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