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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stick · spell · sharp · cold · snap · fall · current · game

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. sharp — clever
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. spell — a short time
  7. fall — to drop
  8. current — electric
  9. spell — magic
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fall — the season
  12. game — a match
  13. game — wild animals
  14. current — happening now
  15. spell — letters
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cold — an illness
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to click
  21. fall — to drop
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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