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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: scale · saw · mine · snap · bat · stock · object · coach

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  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. stock — goods
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — a thing
  11. scale — size or range
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. scale — in music
  14. snap — to click
  15. bat — the animal
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — shares
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. object — an aim
  20. saw — the tool
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. saw — the tool
  23. coach — a trainer
  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