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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: spell · straw · file · stand · wake · sharp · current · last

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. last — final
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. file — a document
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. spell — letters
  8. last — finally
  9. file — a line of people
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. last — to go on
  12. stand — to bear
  13. spell — magic
  14. wake — a trail
  15. file — a tool
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. current — of water
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. sharp — clever
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. spell — a short time
  23. current — happening now
  24. straw — a straw man

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