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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: pound · lie · rock · chair · hand · bark · safe · clip

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. hand — in cards
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. chair — a leader
  6. clip — for paper
  7. lie — to recline
  8. rock — music
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. clip — to cut
  14. rock — a stone
  15. clip — a video
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. pound — a weight
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. hand — help
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bark — to shout

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