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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cap — a hat
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — goods
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. land — a country
  9. bat — the animal
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. cap — a lid
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. land — to come down
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. mine — for digging
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. key — for a lock
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. land — ground

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