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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. stock — goods
  3. key — the most important part
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. key — in music
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. lean — thin
  8. key — for a lock
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — a stone
  11. scale — size or range
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. scale — in music
  14. lean — to bend
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. wound — an injury
  18. track — a path
  19. wake — a trail
  20. track — to keep track
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. track — a song
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — shares

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