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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: scale · chest · cold · firm · stock · deal · season · fan

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. firm — a company
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. deal — to handle
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. chest — a box
  10. season — of the year
  11. stock — goods
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cold — not warm
  17. firm — decided
  18. season — in sport
  19. firm — steady
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. chest — of your body
  22. stock — shares
  23. chest — of your body
  24. scale — size or range

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