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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 · chest · can · spring · bark · current · ruler · pitcher

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — to shout
  5. can — to be able to
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. spring — of water
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. chest — a box
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. spring — a coil
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. current — of water
  17. spring — the season
  18. current — electric
  19. current — happening now
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wound — an injury

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