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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: lash · hide · net · tear · bark · bear · safe · field

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. bear — the animal
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. net — for catching
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bear — the animal
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. tear — from crying
  16. field — a subject
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. tear — to rip
  19. field — for sport
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. field — farmland
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. tear — from crying

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