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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: rock · bark · clip · bank · current · pop · wound · mine

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bank — of a river
  5. current — electric
  6. pop — music
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bank — for money
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. current — happening now
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. current — of water
  17. pop — soda
  18. clip — a video
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pop — to visit
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bank — for money
  24. rock — a stone

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