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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: degree · object · stock · trunk · file · coach · foot · row

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. degree — an amount
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. stock — shares
  7. foot — a measure
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. object — an aim
  11. file — a line of people
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. file — a document
  14. degree — from a university
  15. row — to paddle
  16. object — to protest
  17. stock — goods
  18. object — a thing
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. degree — temperature
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. file — a tool
  24. foot — the bottom

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