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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kick · saw · wind · field · coach · rash · stock · bat

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. field — for sport
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — goods
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. bat — the animal
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. kick — in football
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. field — a subject
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rash — a series
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wind — moving air
  22. field — farmland
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bat — in an idiom

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