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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: wind · net · bat · capital · land · calf · coach · current

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. current — of water
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. net — for catching
  5. current — electric
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. net — after costs
  8. wind — moving air
  9. current — happening now
  10. land — ground
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. net — in sport
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. land — a country
  21. bat — the animal
  22. land — to come down
  23. wind — moving air
  24. capital — money

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