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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bat — the animal
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — the most important part
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — goods
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. march — the month
  11. key — in music
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. march — music
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. wound — an injury
  23. branch — a division
  24. march — the month

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