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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: club · coach · drill · hand · march · wake · stock · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wake — a trail
  3. stock — goods
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. drill — a practice
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. cap — of ice
  12. march — music
  13. drill — the tool
  14. stock — shares
  15. club — for dancing
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. drill — army training
  18. march — the month
  19. cap — a lid
  20. club — a group
  21. hand — in cards
  22. march — the month
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. club — for golf

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