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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: club · sharp · current · press · spring · cell · bound · ground

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. club — a group
  3. press — newspapers
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cell — a phone
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — the season
  10. current — happening now
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. club — for dancing
  13. current — of water
  14. current — electric
  15. bound — tied together
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bound — obliged
  18. club — for golf
  19. ground — crushed
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bound — certain
  22. press — to push
  23. spring — of water
  24. sharp — exactly

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