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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.

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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: snap · capital · band · cell · current · saw · coach · patient

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. band — a ring
  8. current — happening now
  9. saw — the tool
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. capital — money
  14. cell — in biology
  15. saw — the tool
  16. band — a music group
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cell — a phone
  20. snap — to click
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. current — of water
  23. current — electric
  24. coach — a trainer

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