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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  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. march — the month
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. game — a match
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. key — in music
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. game — wild animals
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. key — the most important part
  15. stock — goods
  16. hand — help
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — a position
  20. wax — to grow
  21. ground — crushed
  22. staff — employees
  23. stock — shares
  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