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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: content · chair · tear · current · kick · band · bark · bound

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bark — to shout
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. content — the amount
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. tear — to rip
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — obliged
  15. tear — from crying
  16. content — happy
  17. current — happening now
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — a leader
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bound — tied together
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. current — of water
  24. kick — in football

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