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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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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. ball — a dance
  3. stock — goods
  4. sharp — clever
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. wound — an injury
  7. key — in music
  8. land — to come down
  9. wound — an injury
  10. ball — a great time
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. key — the most important part
  18. cap — a hat
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — of ice
  23. key — for a lock
  24. sharp — with an edge

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