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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: current · sharp · spell · cold · pound · court · net · degree

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. court — for sport
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. court — of a king
  9. net — for catching
  10. court — of law
  11. current — electric
  12. cold — not warm
  13. current — happening now
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pound — a weight
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. spell — a short time
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — an amount
  20. spell — magic
  21. current — of water
  22. spell — letters
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. degree — temperature

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