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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: kick · stock · degree · row · coach · field · bowl · fork

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. field — farmland
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. field — a subject
  17. stock — goods
  18. kick — in football
  19. degree — from a university
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. field — for sport
  22. degree — temperature
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. bowl — a football final

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