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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. stock — shares
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. key — the most important part
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. key — in music
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. foot — a measure
  14. club — a group
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. stock — goods
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — for dancing
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. key — for a lock
  24. wound — an injury

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