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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. firm — steady
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. last — final
  6. firm — a company
  7. last — finally
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. stock — goods
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. firm — decided
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a plant
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. wound — an injury
  19. root — of a word
  20. last — to go on
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. key — for a lock
  23. key — in music
  24. stem — to come from

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