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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 116 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: spell · kid · stock · dip · spring · coach · ground · fall

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. fall — the season
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. stock — shares
  8. kid — child
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. spell — a short time
  11. ground — a position
  12. spring — the season
  13. dip — to sink
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. ground — crushed
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. spring — a coil
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. spring — of water
  21. ground — the earth
  22. spell — magic
  23. stock — goods
  24. dip — a sauce

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