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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: stock · scale · pass · wound · pitcher · kid · kick · cold

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. kick — in football
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. stock — shares
  6. pass — a permit
  7. stock — goods
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. scale — size or range
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. wound — an injury
  18. kid — child
  19. scale — in music
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kid — to tease

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