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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: cap · racket · stand · temple · clip · sharp · current · cold

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. current — electric
  6. sharp — clever
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cold — an illness
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. clip — a video
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cap — a hat
  13. clip — to cut
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — of water
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. stand — to bear
  18. cap — a lid
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. cold — not warm

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