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

Word bank: kid · bark · temple · march · wind · pound · safe · stem

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. 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. bark — of a tree
  2. march — music
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. stem — to come from
  9. march — the month
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. march — the month
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. 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