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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: pitcher · ruler · mine · hand · current · branch · coach · cell

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  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. coach — pulled by horses
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. branch — a division
  5. cell — a phone
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. current — of water
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cell — in biology
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. mine — for digging
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. current — electric
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. coach — a trainer
  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