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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: wave · field · current · coach · can · march · clip · wound

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. field — a subject
  3. clip — a video
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. current — electric
  6. wound — an injury
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. can — a tin
  11. field — for sport
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. march — the month
  14. wound — an injury
  15. can — a tin
  16. field — farmland
  17. current — of water
  18. current — happening now
  19. can — to be able to
  20. march — the month
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. clip — for paper
  23. march — music
  24. wave — of the sea

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