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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: chair · march · wake · row · coach · stock · hand · rush

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. stock — shares
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. march — the month
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. march — music
  9. chair — a leader
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wake — a trail
  13. hand — help
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. hand — in cards
  17. stock — goods
  18. march — the month
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. rush — hurry
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. row — a line
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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