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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: coach · swing · cold · dip · date · stock · calf · row

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. swing — to play on
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. stock — shares
  6. swing — music
  7. stock — goods
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. row — a line
  13. cold — not warm
  14. row — to paddle
  15. dip — to sink
  16. date — the fruit
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. cold — an illness
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. swing — in golf
  24. coach — a trainer

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