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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: snap · wind · wake · board · bark · tube · current · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bark — to shout
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. current — electric
  7. snap — to click
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. wind — moving air
  15. board — a committee
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. tube — the underground
  18. board — to get on
  19. current — of water
  20. tube — a container
  21. current — happening now
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wind — moving air

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