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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · board · current · staff · cell · wave · spring · cold

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. spring — the season
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. board — a committee
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. cell — a phone
  9. staff — employees
  10. current — of water
  11. cell — in biology
  12. current — electric
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — a stick
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. current — happening now
  24. board — to get on

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