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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: file · jam · fine · net · calf · current · sharp · cold

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. cold — not warm
  3. fine — all right
  4. current — happening now
  5. sharp — clever
  6. current — of water
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. file — a tool
  10. fine — high quality
  11. cold — an illness
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. net — for catching
  15. file — a document
  16. net — in sport
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. file — a line of people
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. net — after costs
  21. current — electric
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. fine — a penalty

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