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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 120 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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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: pound · cell · root · band · tear · current

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. current — of water
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. current — electric
  6. tear — to rip
  7. pound — a weight
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. root — of a word
  12. band — a ring
  13. root — the cause
  14. current — happening now
  15. root — of a plant
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pound — to hit hard

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