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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: kid · current · wound · bark · trunk · hide · rush · pound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. pound — a weight
  5. kid — to tease
  6. current — electric
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. current — happening now
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. current — of water
  13. rush — hurry
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. bark — to shout
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. kid — child
  24. hide — animal skin

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