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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.

Words on the sheet
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: coach · swing · mine · current · racket · cold · hand · pass

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. current — of water
  3. pass — a permit
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. swing — in golf
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cold — an illness
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. hand — in cards
  11. swing — to play on
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. mine — for digging
  16. cold — not warm
  17. swing — music
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. current — electric
  22. current — happening now
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — a loud noise

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