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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: shower · lean · perch · stock · vault · scale · mate · pitcher

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. lean — to bend
  4. shower — rain
  5. scale — in music
  6. shower — to wash
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. perch — the fish
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. mate — a friend
  12. vault — a safe
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. lean — thin
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mate — a partner
  17. stock — goods
  18. mate — to breed
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. scale — size or range
  24. stock — shares

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