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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. current — electric
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. object — to protest
  10. current — of water
  11. track — a song
  12. current — happening now
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. track — to keep track
  15. object — an aim
  16. wound — an injury
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — for sport
  19. track — a path
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. branch — a division
  24. object — a thing

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