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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: cold · row · cell · fork · stock · coach · bear · wake

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wake — a trail
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fork — in a road
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. stock — shares
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. row — to paddle
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. row — a line
  24. coach — a trainer

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