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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: perch · stock · roll · foot · coach · land · field · leaves

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. perch — the fish
  7. field — a subject
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. field — farmland
  11. land — a country
  12. stock — goods
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. land — ground
  15. stock — shares
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. foot — a measure
  18. field — for sport
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. roll — a cake
  21. roll — a list
  22. land — to come down
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. roll — on a roll

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