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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: content · hand · current · present · nail · sharp · game · squash

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — clever
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — to crush
  9. hand — help
  10. present — the time now
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. game — wild animals
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. content — happy
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. game — a match
  17. current — happening now
  18. content — the amount
  19. current — of water
  20. hand — in cards
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. present — there
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. current — electric

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