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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: temple · current · bark · bore · cold · wound · rock · hand

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wound — an injury
  4. current — happening now
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. current — of water
  7. current — electric
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bore — to tire
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. rock — a stone
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bore — to drill
  20. rock — music
  21. wound — an injury
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. hand — help

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