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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: last · current · spring · degree · firm · staff · sharp · ball

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. firm — steady
  3. sharp — clever
  4. degree — from a university
  5. last — final
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. degree — an amount
  8. ball — a dance
  9. spring — of water
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — a stick
  13. spring — the season
  14. firm — decided
  15. current — happening now
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. last — to go on
  18. current — electric
  19. current — of water
  20. last — finally
  21. spring — a coil
  22. degree — temperature
  23. firm — a company
  24. ball — a great time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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