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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 120 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: rush · bat · scale · spell · pound · stock · bark · coach

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bark — to shout
  3. spell — magic
  4. scale — in music
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — goods
  11. rush — hurry
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. stock — shares
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — letters

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