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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: cell · pound · current · bore · bat · stem · kid · coach

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bat — the animal
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bore — to tire
  5. kid — child
  6. current — happening now
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bore — to drill
  10. current — electric
  11. current — of water
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pound — a weight
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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