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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: sharp · fall · coach · race · degree · stock · trunk · season

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stock — goods
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. season — of the year
  8. degree — temperature
  9. fall — the season
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. degree — from a university
  13. fall — to drop
  14. season — in sport
  15. race — a contest
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. race — the arms race
  18. sharp — clever
  19. race — humankind
  20. fall — to drop
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. degree — an amount

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