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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: bark · swing · net · chest · wound · tear · cap · safe

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. wound — an injury
  4. tear — to rip
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. chest — a box
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — in sport
  9. cap — a lid
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. bark — to shout
  12. wound — an injury
  13. swing — to play on
  14. tear — from crying
  15. chest — of your body
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. cap — of ice
  21. swing — in golf
  22. net — for catching
  23. swing — music
  24. cap — a hat

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