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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: field · swing · chest · pound · tube · bark · tear · safe

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. chest — a box
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. field — farmland
  8. swing — to play on
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tube — a container
  11. swing — in golf
  12. field — for sport
  13. tear — to rip
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tear — from crying
  17. field — a subject
  18. pound — a weight
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. swing — music
  21. bark — to shout
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. chest — of your body

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