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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: bark · cold · squash · chair · rule · saw · safe · lie

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. squash — the sport
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. squash — to crush
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. rule — a law
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bark — to shout
  22. rule — government
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rule — to rule out

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