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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 116 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: kid · stock · fall · fan · row · ground · coach · squash

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. kid — child
  6. fall — to drop
  7. row — a line
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. ground — the earth
  12. squash — the sport
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. stock — goods
  17. fall — to drop
  18. row — to paddle
  19. stock — shares
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — a position
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. squash — to crush
  24. fall — the season

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