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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: stock · row · spring · bowl · prune · coach · chair · bark

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. stock — shares
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. spring — the season
  7. row — a line
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — goods
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. spring — of water
  17. chair — a leader
  18. prune — to trim
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. spring — a coil
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. prune — to trim

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