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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: cell · season · kid · stock · snap · scale · tube · chair

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cell — in biology
  5. kid — to tease
  6. tube — the underground
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — size or range
  11. stock — shares
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to click
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. season — in sport
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. cell — a phone
  24. stock — goods

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