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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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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: kid · track · safe · bark · sharp · cell · foot · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. wound — an injury
  6. track — a path
  7. bark — to shout
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. kid — child
  11. sharp — clever
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wound — an injury
  17. track — a song
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. track — to keep track
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. foot — a measure
  24. sharp — with an edge

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