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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: stock · chest · cold · squash · bank · foot · bowl · scale

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bank — for money
  3. squash — the sport
  4. scale — size or range
  5. stock — goods
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bank — for money
  8. cold — not warm
  9. foot — a measure
  10. chest — a box
  11. cold — an illness
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. squash — to crush
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. stock — shares
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. chest — of your 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