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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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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: file · spring · pit · bark · chest · safe · sharp · race

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. file — a tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. spring — of water
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. file — a line of people
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. file — a document
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. sharp — clever
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. race — humankind
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. spring — the season
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. pit — in a race
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pit — a hole

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