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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 116 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 · mate · cold · tube · scale · lie · bark · rest

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. mate — a friend
  3. scale — in music
  4. rest — what's left
  5. mate — to breed
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. mate — a partner
  11. cold — an illness
  12. lie — to recline
  13. bark — to shout
  14. tube — a container
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. tube — the underground
  20. scale — size or range
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cold — not warm

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