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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 120 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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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: hand · prune · coach · kid · board · cue · game · current

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. cue — a hint
  3. board — to get on
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. board — a committee
  6. game — wild animals
  7. kid — child
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. hand — help
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. cue — a signal
  16. hand — in cards
  17. current — happening now
  18. current — electric
  19. cue — for pool
  20. prune — to trim
  21. game — a match
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. prune — to trim

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