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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: bark · cabinet · current · kid · hand · bound · craft · wax

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  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. bark — of a tree
  2. kid — to tease
  3. craft — boats
  4. bound — tied together
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. hand — help
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — to shout
  11. craft — a skill
  12. bound — certain
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. hand — in cards
  15. current — happening now
  16. bound — obliged
  17. current — electric
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. wax — to grow
  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