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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ruler · root · current · cold · clip · rush · field · trunk

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. current — happening now
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. current — of water
  9. root — of a plant
  10. clip — for paper
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. root — the cause
  13. field — a subject
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. field — for sport
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. cold — an illness
  19. field — farmland
  20. root — of a word
  21. clip — to cut
  22. current — electric
  23. cold — not warm
  24. clip — a video

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