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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: race · swing · stock · spell · degree · lean · chair · coach

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. degree — from a university
  3. chair — a leader
  4. swing — music
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. spell — magic
  7. lean — thin
  8. race — a contest
  9. degree — an amount
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. swing — in golf
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. stock — shares
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — to bend
  17. degree — temperature
  18. race — the arms race
  19. swing — to play on
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. race — humankind
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — letters

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