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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: field · dip · coach · perch · hand · stock · fall · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. fall — to drop
  3. perch — the fish
  4. field — a subject
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. hand — in cards
  8. dip — to sink
  9. fall — to drop
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. stock — goods
  15. fall — the season
  16. file — a line of people
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. stock — shares
  19. field — farmland
  20. hand — help
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. field — for sport
  23. file — a document
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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