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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. squash — the sport
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bat — the animal
  6. key — for a lock
  7. bank — of a river
  8. key — in music
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. hand — in cards
  11. spell — magic
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bank — for money
  16. stock — shares
  17. hand — help
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. spell — letters
  21. bank — for money
  22. squash — to crush
  23. stock — goods
  24. key — the most important part

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