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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 116 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: spring · stock · fall · coach · court · tear · can · tube

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stock — shares
  6. court — for sport
  7. tube — the underground
  8. fall — the season
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — to be able to
  11. spring — the season
  12. tear — to rip
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tube — a container
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. fall — to drop
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. can — a tin
  22. court — of law
  23. stock — goods
  24. court — of a king

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