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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: saw · chest · last · rush · cold · scale · bay · stock

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. saw — the tool
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. scale — in music
  7. last — finally
  8. stock — goods
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. cold — an illness
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. scale — size or range
  14. saw — the tool
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stock — shares
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. chest — a box
  24. last — final

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