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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: current · wake · bark · cold · wind · swing · board · date

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. swing — music
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. wind — moving air
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. current — of water
  10. swing — to play on
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bark — to shout
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. swing — in golf
  15. date — the fruit
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. wind — moving air
  18. board — a committee
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. current — happening now
  22. board — to get on
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. current — electric

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