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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: cue · roll · shower · stock · face · capital · coach · racket

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. shower — to wash
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. face — to confront
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. stock — shares
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. roll — a list
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. roll — a cake
  15. face — part of the head
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. cue — for pool
  18. stock — goods
  19. capital — money
  20. cue — a signal
  21. shower — rain
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. capital — a city
  24. face — to point toward

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