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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 120 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 · coach · lean · wax · stock · squash · rush · stem

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. lean — to bend
  4. rush — hurry
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. wax — to grow
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. squash — to crush
  11. scale — size or range
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. stem — to come from
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. stock — shares
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. lean — thin
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. lean — to rest against

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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