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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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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: kid · fall · mark · coach · spring · bark · pit · stock

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. kid — child
  3. pit — a hole
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. stock — shares
  8. pit — in a race
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. mark — a trace
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. spring — the season
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bark — to shout
  19. spring — a coil
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fall — the season
  22. stock — goods
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. spring — of water

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