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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: stem · court · current · object · coach · clip · firm · spring

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. object — to protest
  5. firm — steady
  6. court — of law
  7. spring — a coil
  8. firm — decided
  9. object — a thing
  10. spring — of water
  11. firm — a company
  12. stem — to come from
  13. current — electric
  14. spring — the season
  15. object — an aim
  16. court — of a king
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. current — happening now
  19. clip — to cut
  20. current — of water
  21. clip — a video
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. court — for sport
  24. clip — for paper

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