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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: mug · cold · pound · current · tear · bark · scale · root

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. mug — a cup
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. current — electric
  9. current — happening now
  10. scale — in music
  11. current — of water
  12. root — of a word
  13. bark — to shout
  14. mug — to rob
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. root — the cause
  17. mug — a face
  18. cold — an illness
  19. root — of a plant
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. tear — to rip
  22. scale — size or range
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pound — a weight

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