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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 116 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: row · prune · board · tear · snap · land · current · calf

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. tear — from crying
  4. prune — to trim
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — a committee
  7. tear — to rip
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. prune — to trim
  11. current — happening now
  12. row — a line
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. land — a country
  16. current — of water
  17. board — to get on
  18. land — ground
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. land — to come down
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. row — to paddle
  23. current — electric
  24. snap — to click

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