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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: coach · ground · racket · drill · cell · staff · wax · stock

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cell — in biology
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. ground — the earth
  8. stock — shares
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wax — to grow
  12. staff — a stick
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. ground — a position
  21. cell — a phone
  22. staff — employees
  23. drill — a practice
  24. staff — employees

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