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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: wake · land · wound · scale · coach · field · cue · stock

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. cue — a hint
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. land — a country
  6. field — farmland
  7. scale — in music
  8. stock — shares
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cue — a signal
  14. scale — size or range
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. land — to come down
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wake — a trail
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. field — a subject
  21. land — ground
  22. field — for sport
  23. stock — goods
  24. cue — for pool

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