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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. file — a line of people
  5. ground — a position
  6. court — of a king
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. current — of water
  11. file — a document
  12. ground — the earth
  13. current — electric
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. object — to protest
  16. stock — shares
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. object — an aim
  19. court — for sport
  20. file — a tool
  21. stock — goods
  22. object — a thing
  23. current — happening now
  24. ground — crushed

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