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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: sharp · bound · last · current · wound · mug · mine · field

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. sharp — clever
  3. mug — a face
  4. current — of water
  5. field — a subject
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. last — to go on
  9. mug — a cup
  10. last — final
  11. field — farmland
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — tied together
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. current — happening now
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. current — electric
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. bound — certain
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. field — for sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. last — finally

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