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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 116 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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. spring — the season
  3. key — for a lock
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. squash — the sport
  8. pop — soda
  9. net — in sport
  10. spring — a coil
  11. pop — music
  12. rule — government
  13. stock — shares
  14. spring — of water
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. net — after costs
  18. rule — a law
  19. stock — goods
  20. key — in music
  21. squash — to crush
  22. net — for catching
  23. pop — to visit
  24. rule — to rule out

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