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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: present · lean · spell · cold · temple · net · stock · coach

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cold — an illness
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. lean — thin
  7. cold — not warm
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. net — for catching
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. stock — goods
  12. present — the time now
  13. net — after costs
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. present — a gift
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — magic
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. net — in sport
  22. stock — shares
  23. spell — a short time
  24. present — there

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