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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: last · coach · bark · stock · rush · fork · mouse · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. stock — goods
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — hurry
  6. last — final
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. stock — shares
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. last — to go on
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. fork — in a road
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. last — finally
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. game — a match

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