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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: season · current · cell · cold · rash · file · sharp · nail

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. sharp — clever
  2. file — a document
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. season — of the year
  6. cell — in biology
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. rash — hasty
  10. file — a line of people
  11. current — electric
  12. cold — an illness
  13. file — a tool
  14. current — of water
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cell — a phone
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cold — not warm
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. rash — a series
  21. current — happening now
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — exactly
  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