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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 120 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: court · pop · hand · current · bark · stick · bat · rush

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. court — of law
  3. hand — help
  4. pop — to visit
  5. current — happening now
  6. court — for sport
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. hand — in cards
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. current — of water
  16. pop — music
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. current — electric
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — hurry
  22. pop — soda
  23. court — of a king
  24. bat — for baseball

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