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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: chest · stock · roll · game · object · drill · scale · jam

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. roll — a list
  5. chest — a box
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. drill — army training
  10. chest — of your body
  11. roll — a cake
  12. object — a thing
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. drill — the tool
  16. game — a match
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — an aim
  19. stock — goods
  20. drill — a practice
  21. scale — in music
  22. game — wild animals
  23. scale — size or range
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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