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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 · land · safe · stand · tear · band · wake · wind

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. tear — from crying
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. land — ground
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. band — a ring
  14. tear — from crying
  15. land — to come down
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. band — a music group
  19. stand — to bear
  20. land — a country
  21. kick — in football
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wake — a trail

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