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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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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: net · wind · root · bank · ground · rule · land · current

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bank — for money
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. ground — a position
  6. bank — for money
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ground — crushed
  9. root — of a plant
  10. current — of water
  11. land — a country
  12. wind — moving air
  13. land — ground
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. net — in sport
  16. root — of a word
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. rule — a law
  19. land — to come down
  20. current — happening now
  21. current — electric
  22. bank — of a river
  23. ground — the earth
  24. root — the cause

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