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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: tear · mark · march · sharp · current · present · shower · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  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. cell — a phone
  2. march — the month
  3. sharp — clever
  4. present — the time now
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. present — a gift
  7. current — electric
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. march — the month
  10. tear — to rip
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mark — a grade
  14. shower — to wash
  15. present — there
  16. cell — in biology
  17. mark — a trace
  18. tear — from crying
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — of water
  21. shower — rain
  22. tear — from crying
  23. march — music
  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