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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: squash · hide · cold · coach · wax · stem · current · wind

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. current — happening now
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. current — electric
  11. cold — not warm
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. wax — to grow
  18. current — of water
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. squash — to crush
  23. stem — to come from
  24. wind — to turn a key

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