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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 120 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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stock — shares
  4. key — for a lock
  5. net — for catching
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. key — in music
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. net — in sport
  11. stock — goods
  12. field — a subject
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. field — farmland
  16. cue — a hint
  17. net — after costs
  18. key — the most important part
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. cue — a signal
  22. field — for sport
  23. cue — for pool
  24. nail — for a hammer

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