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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: straw · drill · club · land · tear · stock · cabinet · coach

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. club — for golf
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. tear — from crying
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. tear — from crying
  11. club — a group
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. stock — shares
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. club — for dancing
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — a practice
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. land — to come down
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. drill — the tool
  24. stock — goods

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