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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: hand · clip · stem · content · bound · rest · current · bark

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. hand — in cards
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bark — to shout
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. clip — a video
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. content — the amount
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. current — of water
  12. current — electric
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bound — tied together
  16. hand — help
  17. bound — obliged
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. stem — to come from
  22. content — happy
  23. bound — certain
  24. current — happening now

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