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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: temple · tube · scale · cold · stock · stem · coach · saw

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  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. temple — a place of worship
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. saw — the tool
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. stem — to come from
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. scale — size or range
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — shares
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tube — the underground
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. scale — in music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — in a tire
  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