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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 120 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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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: scale · stem · band · coach · last · firm · chair · current

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. band — a music group
  4. last — finally
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — size or range
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. scale — in music
  9. current — of water
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. band — a ring
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. firm — steady
  16. chair — a leader
  17. current — electric
  18. firm — a company
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — to come from
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. current — happening now
  23. firm — decided
  24. band — a rubber band

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