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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: current · coach · pop · cabinet · straw · tear · bore · net

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to tire
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. current — of water
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. tear — from crying
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. current — electric
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pop — music
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pop — soda
  17. net — for catching
  18. bore — to drill
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. current — happening now
  21. net — in sport
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. net — after costs
  24. pop — to visit

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