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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: bound · wound · nail · march · pit · current · bat · sharp

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bat — the animal
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. wound — an injury
  6. march — the month
  7. bound — tied together
  8. current — of water
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pit — in a race
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. march — the month
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. march — music
  18. pit — a hole
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. sharp — clever
  21. current — electric
  22. bound — certain
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bound — obliged

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