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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: plane · scale · cold · stem · wave · stock · coach · roll

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. cold — an illness
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. roll — a cake
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. scale — size or range
  14. roll — a list
  15. stem — to come from
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. plane — a tool
  18. scale — in music
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. stock — shares
  24. plane — in geometry

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