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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: last · land · bark · coach · hide · stock · rush · ruler

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. land — to come down
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. last — final
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. land — ground
  14. stock — goods
  15. last — finally
  16. stock — shares
  17. bark — to shout
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. rush — hurry
  20. last — to go on
  21. land — a country
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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