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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: rash · current · bark · court · present · mine · date · chest

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. chest — a box
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — hasty
  5. present — there
  6. bark — to shout
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. rash — a series
  10. court — of a king
  11. present — a gift
  12. mine — for digging
  13. court — for sport
  14. current — happening now
  15. present — the time now
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. chest — of your body
  19. current — of water
  20. date — the fruit
  21. chest — of your body
  22. current — electric
  23. court — of law
  24. date — on the calendar

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