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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: race · spell · bark · press · safe · prune · cold · march

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. press — newspapers
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. march — the month
  5. race — the arms race
  6. spell — letters
  7. march — the month
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bark — to shout
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. cold — an illness
  13. race — a contest
  14. spell — a short time
  15. march — music
  16. race — humankind
  17. cold — not warm
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. spell — magic
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. prune — to trim
  23. press — to push
  24. press — a publisher

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