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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: club · scale · band · stock · kid · tube · perch · fine

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. perch — the fish
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. kid — to tease
  6. club — for dancing
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — in music
  9. fine — high quality
  10. tube — a container
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. kid — child
  13. stock — goods
  14. tube — the underground
  15. band — a music group
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fine — all right
  19. club — for golf
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. band — a ring
  23. club — a group
  24. stock — shares

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