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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: trunk · bark · current · drill · land · branch · hand · bass

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. land — a country
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — low music
  7. current — electric
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. branch — a division
  10. drill — the tool
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. land — to come down
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. drill — army training
  15. hand — in cards
  16. drill — a practice
  17. land — ground
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. bark — to shout
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. current — happening now
  24. bark — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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