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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: trunk · pound · tear · current · capital · net · lash · straw

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. current — electric
  3. net — for catching
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. pound — a weight
  6. net — in sport
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. net — after costs
  9. capital — a city
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. capital — money
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. tear — from crying
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — of water
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. straw — a straw man

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