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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. mate — a partner
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. key — the most important part
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bound — tied together
  8. ground — the earth
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. stock — shares
  13. mate — to breed
  14. bound — obliged
  15. key — in music
  16. cap — a hat
  17. key — for a lock
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. cap — a lid
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bound — certain
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. ground — a position
  24. cap — of ice

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