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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: content · field · bound · coach · dip · current · rush · cold

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. current — electric
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bound — certain
  5. content — the amount
  6. bound — obliged
  7. rush — hurry
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. field — a subject
  10. cold — an illness
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. dip — to sink
  14. cold — not warm
  15. current — happening now
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. content — happy
  20. bound — tied together
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to dunk

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