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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 120 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: current · craft · shower · bear · last · chest · sharp · game

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. game — a match
  3. craft — boats
  4. bear — the animal
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — a skill
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. current — of water
  10. last — finally
  11. shower — rain
  12. chest — of your body
  13. shower — to wash
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. current — happening now
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. last — to go on
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — clever
  22. last — final
  23. game — wild animals
  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