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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.

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: cue · fan · cold · stock · scale · content · chest · foot

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. content — happy
  3. cold — an illness
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. scale — in music
  8. foot — a measure
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. stock — goods
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cue — a signal
  15. chest — a box
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cue — for pool
  19. content — the amount
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cold — not warm
  24. foot — part of the body

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