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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. stock — goods
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stock — shares
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. wake — a trail
  13. scale — in music
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. fine — high quality
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. stem — to come from
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. fine — all right
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. coach — a trainer

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