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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 116 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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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: bore · ruler · coach · wind · swing · chair · current · cold

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. current — electric
  8. swing — in golf
  9. current — of water
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. current — happening now
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. bore — to drill
  18. swing — to play on
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chair — a leader
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bore — to tire
  24. swing — music

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