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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. key — for a lock
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bank — for money
  5. key — the most important part
  6. rest — a break
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. stock — shares
  9. bank — for money
  10. key — in music
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bank — of a river
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. stock — goods
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bear — the animal
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rule — government

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