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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: spring · hand · coach · last · present · wave · current · pass

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. last — final
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. current — of water
  5. current — electric
  6. last — to go on
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. spring — a coil
  9. present — there
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. hand — help
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. pass — a permit
  16. spring — of water
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. spring — the season
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. last — finally
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. hand — in cards
  23. present — the time now
  24. current — happening now

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