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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: hand · file · mark · stock · coach · cabinet · hide · swing

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. swing — to play on
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. file — a line of people
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — in cards
  7. mark — a grade
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. swing — music
  15. stock — goods
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document
  19. swing — in golf
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. stock — shares
  22. mark — a trace
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. hand — part of the body

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