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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: board · tear · nail · cold · tube · capital · current · stick

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. current — of water
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. board — to get on
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. current — electric
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. capital — a city
  14. current — happening now
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. board — a committee
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tube — a container
  22. capital — money
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. nail — for a hammer

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