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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 120 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
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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: content · drill · hand · stock · rest · bear · coach · mine

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. stock — goods
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. drill — army training
  9. bear — the animal
  10. drill — the tool
  11. rest — what's left
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. stock — shares
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bear — the animal
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. drill — a practice
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. content — happy
  20. content — the amount
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. rest — what's left
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. rest — a break

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