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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: date · cold · scale · bore · saw · stock · shower · chair

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. saw — the tool
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. scale — in music
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bore — to tire
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. saw — the tool
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bore — to drill
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. shower — rain
  18. scale — size or range
  19. chair — a leader
  20. date — the fruit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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