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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. court — of law
  4. stock — shares
  5. current — electric
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. net — for catching
  9. current — of water
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. net — in sport
  15. key — in music
  16. current — happening now
  17. key — the most important part
  18. stock — goods
  19. track — to keep track
  20. net — after costs
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. track — a path
  24. track — a song

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