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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 120 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: rock · mark · bat · trunk · arm · bound · court · current

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bound — obliged
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. rock — music
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. current — electric
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. bound — certain
  14. mark — a trace
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. mark — a grade
  18. rock — a stone
  19. bat — the animal
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bound — tied together
  22. court — of law
  23. current — happening now
  24. rock — to move gently

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