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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 120 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: safe · wound · kid · bark · clip · rush · cell · pop

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. cell — in biology
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bark — to shout
  7. clip — for paper
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pop — soda
  13. pop — music
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. pop — to visit
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. kid — child
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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