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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: stock · march · wound · perch · lean · degree · coach · key

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. key — in music
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. degree — an amount
  5. march — music
  6. degree — temperature
  7. stock — goods
  8. lean — to bend
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. perch — the fish
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. key — for a lock
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. stock — shares
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. march — the month
  19. lean — thin
  20. degree — from a university
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. key — the most important part
  24. perch — for a bird

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