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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: wind · current · coach · stem · last · cell

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. current — of water
  7. last — final
  8. current — electric
  9. last — finally
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. current — happening now
  12. last — to go on
  13. cell — a phone
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cell — in biology
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cell — in a prison

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