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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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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: bark · face · content · hide · kick · safe · march · branch

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. face — part of the head
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. branch — a division
  16. bark — to shout
  17. content — happy
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. march — the month
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. kick — in football
  23. face — to confront
  24. safe — a strongbox

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