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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: hand · snap · tube · bay · coach · prune · face · stock

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tube — a container
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. stock — goods
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. face — part of the head
  15. hand — help
  16. prune — to trim
  17. snap — to click
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — to point toward
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. tube — the underground
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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