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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: bark · cell · safe · wound · hide · wind · capital · stand

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. cell — a phone
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. wind — moving air
  7. capital — a city
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — to shout
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. cell — in biology
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. capital — money
  23. stand — to bear
  24. wind — moving air

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