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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. key — in music
  4. land — ground
  5. net — after costs
  6. last — finally
  7. net — in sport
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. key — the most important part
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. net — for catching
  13. land — a country
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. stock — goods
  17. land — to come down
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. stock — shares
  21. last — to go on
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. last — final
  24. pound — a weight

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