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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: firm · mine · lie · field · date · coach · stock · nail

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. firm — steady
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. firm — decided
  6. date — the fruit
  7. mine — for digging
  8. stock — shares
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. lie — to recline
  16. firm — a company
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. field — for sport
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. date — on the calendar

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