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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 116 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. current — of water
  3. rock — music
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. current — electric
  6. hand — help
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. band — a ring
  10. bark — to shout
  11. march — the month
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. current — happening now
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. rest — a break
  17. march — the month
  18. hand — in cards
  19. march — music
  20. rest — what's left
  21. band — a music group
  22. field — a subject
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. rock — a stone

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