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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: scale · ball · cold · board · stock · lash · shower · charge

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. board — to get on
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cold — not warm
  6. charge — in control
  7. charge — a price
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. shower — rain
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. ball — a dance
  15. shower — to wash
  16. ball — a great time
  17. charge — electricity
  18. stock — shares
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — a committee
  22. scale — size or range
  23. stock — goods
  24. scale — in music

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