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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: key · cold · stock · coach · pound · firm · wound · land

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pound — a weight
  4. stock — goods
  5. land — ground
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. land — to come down
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. key — the most important part
  12. land — a country
  13. wound — an injury
  14. key — in music
  15. key — for a lock
  16. stock — shares
  17. firm — decided
  18. firm — steady
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. firm — a company
  23. cold — an illness
  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