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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: content · straw · cold · coach · fork · current · fine · stem

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. content — happy
  7. cold — an illness
  8. current — electric
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. content — the amount
  14. fork — in a road
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — of water
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. stem — to come from
  19. cold — not warm
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. fine — high quality
  24. fork — a garden tool

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