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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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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: pound · safe · bark · march · chip · track · cold · trunk

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. track — a song
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. track — a path
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bark — to shout
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. chip — to eat
  14. pound — a weight
  15. chip — for betting
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. march — the month
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. track — to keep track
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. cold — an illness

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