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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: last · bay · bat · chair · scale · track · stock · lean

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  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. stock — shares
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. track — a path
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. track — a song
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. last — to go on
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. lean — thin
  16. last — finally
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. track — to keep track
  19. last — final
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. stock — goods
  22. bat — the animal
  23. lean — to bend
  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