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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: coach · bark · press · last · firm · game · stock · ground

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. game — a match
  4. press — newspapers
  5. ground — a position
  6. firm — a company
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. last — final
  11. firm — steady
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bark — to shout
  14. press — a publisher
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. ground — the earth
  20. press — to push
  21. firm — decided
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. ground — crushed

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