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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: bat · coach · net · jam · date · key · fan · stock

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. net — after costs
  3. key — for a lock
  4. date — the fruit
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stock — shares
  9. key — the most important part
  10. stock — goods
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. net — for catching
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. bat — the animal
  22. net — in sport
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. key — in music

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