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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: wind · kid · game · safe · straw · arm · stand · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — in sport
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wind — moving air
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. kid — child
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. stand — to bear
  17. game — a match
  18. kid — to tease
  19. season — of the year
  20. game — wild animals
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. safe — out of danger

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