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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: chair · scale · stock · race · craft · wake

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — boats
  5. race — a contest
  6. stock — shares
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. race — the arms race
  9. wake — a trail
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. scale — in music
  12. stock — goods
  13. race — humankind
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. scale — size or range
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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