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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 116 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: wound · cold · bark · stick · pound · safe · bulb · bat

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pound — a weight
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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