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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.

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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. present — a gift
  3. stock — shares
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. key — in music
  6. land — a country
  7. spring — of water
  8. land — to come down
  9. present — the time now
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spring — the season
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. current — happening now
  15. key — for a lock
  16. key — the most important part
  17. present — there
  18. current — electric
  19. spring — a coil
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. current — of water
  24. land — ground

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