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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 · stock · bear · coach · hand · court · straw · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. current — electric
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. current — of water
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bear — the animal
  10. stock — shares
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. face — to point toward
  13. hand — help
  14. court — for sport
  15. face — part of the head
  16. stock — goods
  17. hand — in cards
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. court — of law
  22. current — happening now
  23. bear — the animal
  24. court — of a king

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