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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 · wound · mark · sharp · hide · swing · bat · content

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. current — of water
  4. swing — to play on
  5. mark — a trace
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a grade
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. current — happening now
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. swing — music
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. wound — an injury
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bat — the animal
  21. current — electric
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. swing — in golf
  24. sharp — clever

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