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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 116 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: wound · cold · bark · stick · pound · safe

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cold — an illness
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. pound — a weight
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. bark — to shout

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