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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: key · cold · bat · pound · bore · current · face · coach

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. face — to point toward
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. key — in music
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pound — a weight
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — to drill
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. face — to confront
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. current — electric
  17. current — of water
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. key — for a lock
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. key — the most important part
  24. face — part of the head

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