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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  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. stock — goods
  2. board — to get on
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. snap — to click
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. key — in music
  8. key — the most important part
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. land — to come down
  13. stock — shares
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — a committee
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bat — the animal
  23. temple — side of the head
  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