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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: band · calf · kid · face · scale · rash · land · stock

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. band — a ring
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — goods
  5. scale — size or range
  6. stock — shares
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. land — to come down
  9. rash — hasty
  10. kid — child
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — part of the head
  15. band — a music group
  16. land — a country
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. face — to point toward
  22. land — ground
  23. rash — a series
  24. scale — in music

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