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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: vault · coach · pound · stock · cold · pop · net · chip

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. cold — not warm
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. pop — to visit
  6. stock — goods
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. chip — for betting
  9. stock — shares
  10. chip — to eat
  11. net — in sport
  12. pop — soda
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. net — for catching
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pop — music
  18. vault — a safe
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. cold — an illness
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. net — after costs
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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