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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 116 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 · saw · rule · ball · bat · root · row · stock

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. ball — a dance
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stock — shares
  8. root — the cause
  9. rule — government
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a line
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. root — of a word
  18. bat — the animal
  19. root — of a plant
  20. ball — a great time
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. stock — goods
  23. rule — a law
  24. stock — a soup base

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