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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: stick · can · current · bat · clip · field · march · coach

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. march — music
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. field — for sport
  5. current — electric
  6. can — to be able to
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. march — the month
  14. field — a subject
  15. march — the month
  16. bat — the animal
  17. current — of water
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. can — a tin
  20. current — happening now
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. field — farmland
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bat — in an idiom

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