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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 120 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: coach · bulb · game · current · snap · march · nail · cell

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. current — of water
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. current — electric
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. game — a match
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. current — happening now
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — for light
  21. march — music
  22. game — wild animals
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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