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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. current — electric
  6. bark — to shout
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. current — of water
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. court — for sport
  11. current — happening now
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. dip — to sink
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. court — of a king
  20. deal — to handle
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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