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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: cap · wound · chair · safe · lash · bark · bass · wind

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bass — the fish
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. chair — a leader
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bass — low music
  23. cap — of ice
  24. bark — of a tree

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