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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 · cap · cold · net · bear · march · bound · sharp

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. march — the month
  3. bound — certain
  4. current — electric
  5. cap — of ice
  6. net — for catching
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. march — the month
  9. current — happening now
  10. net — in sport
  11. sharp — clever
  12. cold — not warm
  13. current — of water
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bound — obliged
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. march — music
  20. cold — an illness
  21. net — after costs
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bound — tied together

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