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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: wind · current · coach · stem · last · cell · hand · ground

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — the earth
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. last — final
  5. ground — a position
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. last — to go on
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — a phone
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. current — electric
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. current — of water
  18. hand — help
  19. current — happening now
  20. last — finally
  21. stem — to come from
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wind — moving air
  24. ground — crushed

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