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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: scale · cabinet · can · game · stand · march · trunk · cold

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cold — not warm
  3. game — wild animals
  4. march — the month
  5. stand — to bear
  6. scale — size or range
  7. march — the month
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. can — to be able to
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cold — an illness
  12. game — a match
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — in music
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. march — music
  24. cabinet — ministers

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