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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: snap · foot · drill · stock · coach · land · cold · racket

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. land — to come down
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. land — a country
  11. foot — a measure
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. land — ground
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. drill — army training
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — goods
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. snap — to click
  24. racket — a loud noise

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