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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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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: wake · tear · bark · band · cold · safe · race · craft

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. tear — from crying
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. craft — boats
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a music group
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. tear — to rip
  16. craft — a skill
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bark — to shout
  22. wake — a trail
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — humankind

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