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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. stock — goods
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. key — the most important part
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. branch — a division
  8. court — of a king
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. spring — the season
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. object — to protest
  14. spring — of water
  15. key — for a lock
  16. court — of law
  17. object — a thing
  18. court — for sport
  19. key — in music
  20. spring — a coil
  21. mark — a grade
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. object — an aim
  24. branch — of a bank

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