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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: stem · bat · current · last · march · scale · pop · coach

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. current — of water
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. scale — in music
  5. current — happening now
  6. pop — to visit
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. last — final
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. stem — to come from
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. current — electric
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. pop — soda
  17. scale — size or range
  18. last — finally
  19. last — to go on
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bat — the animal
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. march — the month

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