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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: coach · patient · staff · racket · stock · mine · hand · prune

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stock — shares
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. stock — goods
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. prune — to trim
  8. hand — in cards
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. staff — employees
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mine — for digging
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. staff — employees
  22. prune — to trim
  23. staff — a stick
  24. hand — help

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