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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.

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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: spring · sharp · current · present · stem · band · pass · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — a gift
  6. spring — the season
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. spring — a coil
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. current — happening now
  12. last — finally
  13. band — a music group
  14. current — of water
  15. current — electric
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. present — there
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. spring — of water
  20. stem — to come from
  21. sharp — clever
  22. last — to go on
  23. band — a ring
  24. pass — a permit

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