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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stand · cold · current · present · file · clip · sharp · club

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. cold — an illness
  5. sharp — clever
  6. current — of water
  7. clip — for paper
  8. present — there
  9. stand — to bear
  10. current — happening now
  11. clip — to cut
  12. file — a document
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. clip — a video
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. club — for golf
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. present — a gift
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. present — the time now
  24. cold — not warm

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