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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: mine · cold · racket · chair · current · clip · bore · coach

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. current — happening now
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bore — to drill
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. current — electric
  12. mine — for digging
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cold — not warm
  16. current — of water
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bore — to tire
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. mine — an explosive

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