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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.

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: bore · net · stock · cue · coach · cold · kid · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — a stone
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. net — after costs
  6. kid — child
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cue — a signal
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cue — for pool
  16. bore — to tire
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. net — for catching
  19. cue — a hint
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. stock — shares
  24. net — in sport

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