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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. game — wild animals
  3. key — for a lock
  4. net — for catching
  5. spring — the season
  6. swing — music
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. spring — a coil
  9. board — to get on
  10. stock — shares
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. swing — in golf
  13. key — in music
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. swing — to play on
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. net — after costs
  18. game — a match
  19. board — a committee
  20. spring — of water
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. key — the most important part
  23. net — in sport
  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