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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: present · face · hand · current · clip · cell · rash · coach

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. hand — in cards
  3. face — part of the head
  4. cell — a phone
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. present — the time now
  9. current — of water
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. rash — hasty
  13. face — to point toward
  14. present — a gift
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. clip — a video
  17. current — happening now
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. hand — help
  20. face — to confront
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. current — electric
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. rash — a series

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