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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: season · rush · stock · pass · swing · pit · scale · cold

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. swing — music
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. cold — an illness
  7. season — of the year
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. stock — goods
  14. season — in sport
  15. scale — in music
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. swing — to play on
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. scale — size or range
  21. swing — in golf
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. stock — shares
  24. pass — to spend time

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