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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: nail · press · calf · rest · sharp · cold · current · land

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. current — electric
  6. land — to come down
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rest — what's left
  11. press — a publisher
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. rest — a break
  15. current — of water
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. land — ground
  18. sharp — clever
  19. land — a country
  20. rest — what's left
  21. press — to push
  22. current — happening now
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. press — newspapers

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