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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — the most important part
  5. tube — a container
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. face — to point toward
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. root — of a word
  11. clip — a video
  12. bank — of a river
  13. face — part of the head
  14. root — of a plant
  15. bank — for money
  16. drill — a practice
  17. root — the cause
  18. tube — the underground
  19. drill — army training
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bank — for money
  22. key — in music
  23. face — to confront
  24. drill — the tool

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