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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 120 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. rest — what's left
  4. perch — the fish
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — goods
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — certain
  11. wax — to grow
  12. key — in music
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rest — a break
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. rest — what's left
  18. sharp — clever
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bound — tied together
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. sharp — with an edge

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