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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: stock · track · land · bowl · kick · degree · roll · coach

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. roll — a list
  3. degree — from a university
  4. stock — shares
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. roll — a cake
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. land — a country
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a song
  19. kick — in football
  20. degree — an amount
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. track — a path

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