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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: chest · current · coach · can · hand · wound · clip · sharp

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wound — an injury
  5. can — to be able to
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. current — of water
  8. chest — of your body
  9. hand — in cards
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. wound — an injury
  14. current — happening now
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. clip — a video
  17. can — a tin
  18. clip — to cut
  19. hand — help
  20. current — electric
  21. chest — a box
  22. clip — for paper
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. chest — of your body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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