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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 120 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: wound · fan · racket · board · stock · spell · kid · scale

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. spell — a short time
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. scale — size or range
  11. spell — letters
  12. kid — child
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. stock — shares
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stock — goods
  20. scale — in music
  21. board — to get on
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. spell — magic
  24. fan — to cool the air

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