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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: ground · row · pass · cell · bank · current · kid · sharp

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — the earth
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. row — a line
  5. current — happening now
  6. bank — for money
  7. sharp — clever
  8. bank — of a river
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. current — electric
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bank — for money
  17. pass — a permit
  18. current — of water
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cell — in biology
  21. kid — to tease
  22. ground — a position
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. cell — in a prison

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