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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 120 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: can · stock · wound · tube · rash · coach · degree · lie

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. rash — a series
  4. stock — goods
  5. wound — an injury
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — to be able to
  9. can — a tin
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. rash — hasty
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. tube — a container
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. degree — temperature
  21. tube — the underground
  22. degree — an amount
  23. lie — to recline
  24. stock — shares

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