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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: coach · bass · lash · object · land · stock · pop · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. stock — goods
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. object — an aim
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. object — to protest
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. bass — the fish
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bass — low music
  15. pop — soda
  16. shower — rain
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pop — music
  19. stock — shares
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. land — a country
  23. pop — to visit
  24. object — a thing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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