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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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468
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: wound · current · coach · snap · season · row · land · mug

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. wound — an injury
  4. land — to come down
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. mug — a face
  9. mug — to rob
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. land — ground
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. current — electric
  14. mug — a cup
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — of water
  18. land — a country
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. snap — to click
  21. season — in sport
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wound — an injury
  24. coach — a trainer

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