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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: track · current · snap · band · drill · deal · root · cold

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. snap — to click
  3. drill — army training
  4. cold — not warm
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. drill — the tool
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a path
  9. root — of a word
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. current — happening now
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. track — a song
  17. current — of water
  18. band — a ring
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. cold — an illness
  22. current — electric
  23. band — a music group
  24. drill — a practice

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