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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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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: rock · mate · bark · capital · saw · snap · wind · safe

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. capital — a city
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. bark — to shout
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mate — a partner
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. wind — moving air
  12. snap — to click
  13. saw — the tool
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. capital — money
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. mate — to breed
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mate — a friend
  24. rock — a stone

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