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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: staff · current · cold · stock · snap · bark · board · foot

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. board — a flat piece
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. current — electric
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. staff — employees
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. current — happening now
  8. board — a committee
  9. cold — not warm
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. snap — to click
  15. stock — goods
  16. staff — employees
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. board — to get on
  20. stock — shares
  21. staff — a stick
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. cold — an illness
  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