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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: hand · rash · rest · cold · board · scale · stock · lean

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. board — to get on
  4. lean — to bend
  5. scale — size or range
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lean — thin
  12. board — a committee
  13. stock — goods
  14. rash — a series
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. rash — hasty
  19. stock — shares
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. cold — not warm
  22. hand — help
  23. scale — in music
  24. rash — on the skin

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