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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: net · bore · cold · stock · kick · hand · dip · coach

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. cold — an illness
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. net — after costs
  8. stock — shares
  9. net — for catching
  10. kick — in football
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. net — in sport
  15. cold — not warm
  16. dip — to sink
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. hand — help
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bore — to drill
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. stock — goods
  23. bore — to tire
  24. hand — in cards

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