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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. stock — goods
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. file — a document
  8. court — of law
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. capital — money
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. court — for sport
  14. key — in music
  15. court — of a king
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. stock — shares
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. key — the most important part
  21. file — a line of people
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. file — a tool

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