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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: hand · chair · bark · deal · arm · rush · net · current

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. current — electric
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. net — for catching
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. current — happening now
  10. deal — to handle
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. current — of water
  14. net — after costs
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. bark — to shout
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. chair — a leader
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rush — hurry
  22. net — in sport
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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