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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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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: race · bass · cabinet · fall · nail · lean · stock · scale

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. fall — the season
  3. scale — size or range
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. race — a contest
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. race — the arms race
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. fall — to drop
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. stock — goods
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. stock — shares
  17. race — humankind
  18. lean — thin
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bass — the fish
  23. scale — in music
  24. bass — low music

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