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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 · ground · tear · hand · game · safe · lean · band

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. stand — to bear
  3. ground — a position
  4. band — a music group
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to bend
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. tear — to rip
  11. game — a match
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ground — the earth
  16. hand — help
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. tear — from crying
  20. band — a ring
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. game — wild animals
  23. hand — in cards
  24. band — a rubber band

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