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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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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: tear · cold · board · bank · land · current · root · spell

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. board — to get on
  3. land — ground
  4. bank — for money
  5. board — a committee
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bank — for money
  8. cold — an illness
  9. spell — letters
  10. tear — from crying
  11. root — of a word
  12. current — happening now
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bank — of a river
  16. current — electric
  17. root — of a plant
  18. spell — magic
  19. land — a country
  20. root — the cause
  21. land — to come down
  22. current — of water
  23. cold — not warm
  24. spell — a short time

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