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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: rule · rash · current · wind · bat · pop · key · coach

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. current — of water
  4. wind — moving air
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. key — in music
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. key — for a lock
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. rash — hasty
  14. pop — music
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. bat — the animal
  17. rule — a law
  18. pop — to visit
  19. rule — government
  20. pop — soda
  21. rash — a series
  22. current — happening now
  23. wind — moving air
  24. current — electric

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