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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 120 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: cold · chest · stick · fan · temple · stock · coach · racket

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — goods
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. chest — of your body
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. chest — a box
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. cold — not warm
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — a supporter

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