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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: present · cap · scale · cold · wax · game · mug · stock

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. present — there
  4. scale — in music
  5. mug — a face
  6. cap — a lid
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. cap — a hat
  9. stock — goods
  10. game — a match
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. mug — to rob
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wax — to grow
  19. present — a gift
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. present — the time now
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. scale — size or range
  24. mug — a cup

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