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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: tear · band · bark · chest · fan · wound · current · mug

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. mug — a face
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bark — to shout
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. current — of water
  10. current — electric
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. mug — a cup
  16. current — happening now
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mug — to rob
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a ring

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