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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: wave · rule · stock · mate · shower · fork · coach · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. field — for sport
  4. shower — rain
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. rule — government
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. mate — a partner
  10. stock — goods
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. mate — to breed
  13. field — a subject
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rule — a law
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mate — a friend
  23. fork — in a road
  24. wave — of the sea

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