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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 116 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 · stand · scale · wound · land · cell · craft · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a skill
  4. cell — in biology
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. club — a group
  9. land — a country
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. scale — size or range
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. land — ground
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. land — to come down
  17. cell — a phone
  18. wound — an injury
  19. club — for golf
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. club — for dancing
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. kid — child
  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