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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: rock · rest · dip · bark · mine · kid · safe · pop

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mine — for digging
  8. dip — to sink
  9. pop — to visit
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rest — a break
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. pop — soda
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. kid — to tease
  16. rock — a stone
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rest — what's left
  21. kid — child
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pop — music

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