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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: safe · capital · tear · mine · present · bark · wound · rule

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bark — to shout
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. capital — a city
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tear — from crying
  12. capital — money
  13. present — there
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. rule — government
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — the time now
  22. tear — to rip
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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