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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: bat · rule · track · stock · rash · lash · coach · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. stock — goods
  4. track — a path
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — government
  10. track — to keep track
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. track — a song
  16. stock — shares
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rule — a law
  20. bat — the animal
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. rash — a series
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. bat — for baseball

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