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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 116 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: pitcher · cold · stock · bowl · scale · last · pop · fine

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. scale — in music
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. pop — to visit
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. pop — music
  8. fine — all right
  9. last — finally
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. stock — shares
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pop — soda
  15. fine — high quality
  16. last — final
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. last — to go on
  19. cold — an illness
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. scale — size or range

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