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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 116 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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468
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: mouse · scale · cold · stock · bat · race · mate · chip

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. scale — size or range
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. stock — goods
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bat — the animal
  11. race — humankind
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. race — the arms race
  18. stock — shares
  19. race — a contest
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a friend
  22. chip — to eat
  23. mate — a partner
  24. chip — for betting

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