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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: current · stick · chair · content · kid · bark · saw · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  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. saw — the tool
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. current — of water
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. current — electric
  7. content — happy
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. current — happening now
  11. kid — to tease
  12. saw — the tool
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bark — to shout
  19. kid — child
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. content — the amount
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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