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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bark — to shout
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. current — of water
  7. tear — from crying
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. band — a ring
  13. current — electric
  14. band — a music group
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. current — happening now
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bat — the animal
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. kick — in football

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