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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
468
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: land · straw · bat · press · chest · stock · scale · key

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. scale — size or range
  2. scale — in music
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. stock — shares
  5. chest — a box
  6. key — the most important part
  7. chest — of your body
  8. press — newspapers
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. press — to push
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stock — goods
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. land — to come down
  16. key — for a lock
  17. land — a country
  18. key — in music
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bat — the animal
  22. press — a publisher
  23. land — ground
  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