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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: object · ruler · chest · scale · race · stock

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — a thing
  4. chest — of your body
  5. race — a contest
  6. chest — a box
  7. race — humankind
  8. scale — size or range
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. scale — in music
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stock — goods
  14. race — the arms race
  15. object — an aim
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring

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