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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: coach · content · swing · lie · ground · straw · prune · stock

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — goods
  9. content — the amount
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — a position
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. prune — to trim
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. swing — music
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. swing — to play on
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. swing — in golf
  20. content — happy
  21. prune — to trim
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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