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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. stock — shares
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. current — of water
  5. key — for a lock
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — a position
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. snap — to click
  12. key — in music
  13. pass — a permit
  14. stock — goods
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. ground — crushed
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. current — electric
  19. branch — a division
  20. current — happening now
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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