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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: bass · rash · safe · charge · hand · bark · tear · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bass — the fish
  6. charge — a price
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. tear — from crying
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. tear — from crying
  11. field — a subject
  12. charge — electricity
  13. bark — to shout
  14. rash — hasty
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. charge — in control
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bass — low music
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — on the skin

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