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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: cold · current · bark · mug · dip · sharp · fan · safe

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mug — a cup
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. sharp — clever
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. current — of water
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. current — electric
  14. cold — not warm
  15. dip — to sink
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. mug — to rob
  18. current — happening now
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. bark — to shout
  24. cold — the Cold War

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