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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: current · chair · root · drill · lean · tear · last · wound

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. root — of a word
  3. drill — the tool
  4. lean — thin
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chair — a leader
  7. current — of water
  8. last — finally
  9. wound — an injury
  10. root — the cause
  11. last — final
  12. tear — to rip
  13. current — electric
  14. drill — army training
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. last — to go on
  17. lean — to bend
  18. current — happening now
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. drill — a practice
  22. tear — from crying
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. root — of a plant

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