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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: wound · chip · current · plane · coach · cell · kid · season

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. season — of the year
  5. wound — an injury
  6. plane — a tool
  7. cell — a phone
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — to eat
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. kid — child
  12. chip — for betting
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. season — in sport
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cell — in biology
  19. kid — to tease
  20. current — happening now
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. wound — an injury
  23. current — of water
  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