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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. key — in music
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. stock — goods
  7. swing — in golf
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. swing — music
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. stem — to come from
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. stock — shares
  15. key — the most important part
  16. swing — to play on
  17. kid — child
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. wind — moving air
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. cell — in biology
  24. stem — of a plant

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