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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: stock · patient · deal · chair · face · cold · scale · wax

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. scale — size or range
  3. face — to point toward
  4. cold — an illness
  5. face — part of the head
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — to grow
  9. face — to confront
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — to handle
  14. chair — a leader
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. stock — goods
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. scale — in music
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stock — shares
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. wax — for sculpting

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