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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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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: root · net · tear · race · current · present · chest · leaves

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. tear — from crying
  3. race — humankind
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. race — a contest
  7. current — happening now
  8. current — electric
  9. present — a gift
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chest — a box
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. present — there
  14. root — of a plant
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. present — the time now
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. current — of water
  20. net — for catching
  21. root — of a word
  22. tear — to rip
  23. race — the arms race
  24. root — the cause

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