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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: wind · coach · trunk · current · mug · drill · march · file

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. march — music
  3. drill — army training
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wind — moving air
  6. drill — the tool
  7. mug — a cup
  8. current — happening now
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. file — a line of people
  11. mug — to rob
  12. drill — a practice
  13. mug — a face
  14. current — of water
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. march — the month
  19. file — a document
  20. current — electric
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. march — the month
  23. file — a tool
  24. trunk — of a tree

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