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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 120 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: safe · racket · ground · prune · wave · wind · tear · field

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. ground — a position
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. prune — to trim
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. prune — to trim
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. field — farmland
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. tear — from crying
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — crushed
  22. field — a subject
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. field — for sport

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