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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: date · tube · bark · chair · march · stock · coach · ball

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — shares
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. tube — a container
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. march — music
  11. ball — a dance
  12. march — the month
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. march — the month
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. ball — a great time
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. chair — a leader
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bark — to shout
  24. tube — the underground

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