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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: race · safe · bark · snap · leaves · kid · sharp · board

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. board — a committee
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bark — to shout
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. race — a contest
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to click
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. race — humankind
  24. board — to get on

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