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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: cold · net · current · squash · tear · land · bank · pound

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  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 — the Cold War
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. tear — from crying
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bank — for money
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cold — not warm
  9. squash — to crush
  10. current — happening now
  11. land — a country
  12. current — electric
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. land — ground
  15. net — after costs
  16. bank — for money
  17. land — to come down
  18. net — in sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. squash — the sport
  21. net — for catching
  22. cold — an illness
  23. current — of water
  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