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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: tear · bound · leaves · snap · cell · pop · current · sharp

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bound — certain
  9. cell — in biology
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. tear — from crying
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pop — soda
  16. current — happening now
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. tear — to rip
  21. current — of water
  22. current — electric
  23. bound — tied together
  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