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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. cell — in biology
  3. file — a line of people
  4. band — a ring
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rock — music
  8. key — for a lock
  9. file — a tool
  10. key — the most important part
  11. stock — goods
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. band — a music group
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stock — shares
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cell — a phone
  20. rock — a stone
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. file — a document
  24. hide — to keep secret

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