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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. field — for sport
  6. drill — a practice
  7. field — a subject
  8. drill — the tool
  9. spell — letters
  10. field — farmland
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. key — in music
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. ground — a position
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. drill — army training
  20. kid — child
  21. key — the most important part
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. key — for a lock

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