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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: stock · fan · rash · land · kid · stand · scale · chest

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. scale — size or range
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rash — a series
  10. land — to come down
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. land — a country
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. land — ground
  16. kid — child
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stand — to bear
  19. scale — in music
  20. stock — goods
  21. rash — hasty
  22. stock — shares
  23. chest — a box
  24. stand — for spectators

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