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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: key · stock · safe · bat · scale · cold · shower · perch

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — in music
  7. cold — not warm
  8. scale — in music
  9. stock — shares
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. key — for a lock
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. shower — rain
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. shower — to wash
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — goods
  21. scale — size or range
  22. bat — the animal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — an illness

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