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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: current · season · row · court · content · kid · bark · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. current — of water
  3. current — electric
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. court — of law
  7. season — in sport
  8. kid — child
  9. current — happening now
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. kid — to tease
  13. content — happy
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. court — of a king
  19. content — the amount
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bark — to shout
  22. court — for sport
  23. season — of the year
  24. row — a line

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