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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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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: chair · roll · court · current · board · tear · bark · pop

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pop — music
  3. chair — a leader
  4. roll — a cake
  5. tear — to rip
  6. court — of law
  7. board — to get on
  8. court — of a king
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. pop — soda
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. current — happening now
  16. tear — from crying
  17. roll — a list
  18. current — electric
  19. court — for sport
  20. bark — to shout
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. board — a committee
  23. pop — to visit
  24. current — of water

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