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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: bowl · bark · drill · stock · hand · file · current · trunk

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. current — happening now
  4. bark — to shout
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. file — a tool
  7. current — electric
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. drill — army training
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. drill — the tool
  17. stock — goods
  18. drill — a practice
  19. file — a document
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. hand — in cards
  24. current — of water

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