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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: squash · land · cap · board · chest · hide · stock · coach

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. board — a committee
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. land — ground
  5. squash — to crush
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. land — a country
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. cap — of ice
  13. chest — of your body
  14. squash — the sport
  15. stock — goods
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. board — to get on
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cap — a lid
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. land — to come down
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. stock — shares
  24. cap — a hat

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