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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: coach · squash · foot · game · content · kid · hand · current

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. current — happening now
  3. current — of water
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. squash — the sport
  8. current — electric
  9. hand — in cards
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. game — a match
  14. content — happy
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. game — wild animals
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. kid — child
  21. squash — to crush
  22. foot — a measure
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. content — the amount

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