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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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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: current · tear · bore · coach · stick · ground · cold · squash

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. cold — an illness
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. current — happening now
  6. ground — the earth
  7. current — electric
  8. squash — the sport
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bore — to drill
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. current — of water
  17. tear — from crying
  18. ground — a position
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. tear — to rip
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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