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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. key — for a lock
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. field — farmland
  11. key — in music
  12. field — for sport
  13. stock — goods
  14. field — a subject
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. key — the most important part

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