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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 · pit · net · lash · stock · saw · pitcher · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. saw — the tool
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. net — after costs
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. stock — shares
  8. net — for catching
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. scale — in music
  13. stock — goods
  14. pit — in a race
  15. net — in sport
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cold — an illness
  23. scale — size or range
  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