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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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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: wound · wind · band · current · court · branch · staff · bark

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. current — of water
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. band — a ring
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. current — happening now
  12. wound — an injury
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. court — of a king
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wind — moving air
  18. band — a music group
  19. branch — a division
  20. court — of law
  21. current — electric
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. staff — employees
  24. court — for sport

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