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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: chair · cap · scale · racket · stock · kid · face · fine

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. face — to confront
  3. chair — a leader
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cap — of ice
  6. fine — high quality
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. stock — goods
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. scale — in music
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cap — a hat
  15. stock — shares
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. face — to point toward
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. scale — size or range
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. face — part of the head
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. fine — all right

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