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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: face · straw · coach · wound · scale · mouse · game · stock

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. stock — shares
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stock — goods
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. face — to confront
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. face — part of the head
  14. game — a match
  15. wound — an injury
  16. game — wild animals
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. wound — an injury
  19. scale — size or range
  20. face — to point toward
  21. scale — in music
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. scale — for weighing

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