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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mug — to rob
  3. current — of water
  4. cold — not warm
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. current — happening now
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. root — of a word
  12. mug — a face
  13. kid — to tease
  14. root — of a plant
  15. rash — hasty
  16. kid — child
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. cold — an illness
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. current — electric
  21. rash — a series
  22. root — the cause
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. cold — the Cold War

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