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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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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: ground · track · safe · bowl · bark · clip · cue · game

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. ground — the earth
  4. clip — a video
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. track — to keep track
  7. clip — for paper
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. cue — for pool
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cue — a signal
  18. clip — to cut
  19. track — a path
  20. track — a song
  21. game — a match
  22. bark — to shout
  23. cue — a hint
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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