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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 · cold · saw · mine · wake · bark · game · can

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. saw — the tool
  8. can — a tin
  9. wake — a trail
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. can — a tin
  14. game — a match
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cold — not warm
  20. can — to be able to
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. bark — of a tree

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