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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 120 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: wind · bark · kick · ground · bear · safe · bowl · clip

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — the earth
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. bear — the animal
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bark — to shout
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. ground — a position
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. kick — in football
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. clip — a video

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