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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: roll · mate · stock · cold · field · hide · scale · lean

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. scale — size or range
  3. field — a subject
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. scale — in music
  7. stock — goods
  8. lean — to bend
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cold — an illness
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. lean — thin
  14. stock — shares
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mate — to breed
  17. field — farmland
  18. roll — a list
  19. field — for sport
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mate — a friend
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. mate — a partner
  24. stock — a soup base

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