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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: drill · coach · race · stock · ground · leaves · row · pop

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. pop — soda
  3. drill — a practice
  4. row — a line
  5. pop — music
  6. stock — shares
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — humankind
  9. ground — the earth
  10. race — a contest
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — a position
  13. stock — goods
  14. drill — the tool
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. drill — army training
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. pop — to visit
  23. leaves — to go away
  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