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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: kick · bound · court · stock · hand · wound · bark · current

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wound — an injury
  3. hand — help
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. court — for sport
  7. hand — in cards
  8. stock — goods
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. wound — an injury
  11. current — of water
  12. court — of a king
  13. bound — tied together
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — in football
  16. current — electric
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. court — of law
  21. stock — shares
  22. bound — certain
  23. current — happening now
  24. bound — obliged

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