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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: shower · board · safe · march · chest · scale · jam · stock

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. shower — rain
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. march — the month
  8. scale — in music
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. chest — a box
  12. board — to get on
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. scale — size or range
  15. march — music
  16. stock — goods
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — to wash
  19. march — the month
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. stock — shares
  22. chest — of your body
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. safe — out of danger

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