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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.

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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: temple · tube · scale · cold · stock · stem

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. scale — in music
  4. stock — goods
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. cold — not warm
  7. scale — size or range
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. tube — the underground
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stock — shares
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. tube — a container
  18. tube — in a tire

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