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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: fork · hand · calf · game · mine · pop · stock · coach

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. fork — in a road
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. stock — shares
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pop — to visit
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. game — a match
  18. pop — soda
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pop — music
  21. stock — goods
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. calf — of the leg

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