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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: bound · dip · bark · current · stand · file · degree · court

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. court — of a king
  4. bound — tied together
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. file — a tool
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. court — of law
  11. bound — certain
  12. file — a document
  13. stand — to bear
  14. court — for sport
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. dip — to sink
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. file — a line of people
  20. current — happening now
  21. current — of water
  22. bound — obliged
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bark — to shout

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