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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 120 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. race — humankind
  3. land — to come down
  4. spring — the season
  5. race — the arms race
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. stock — goods
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. land — ground
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fork — in a road
  13. spring — a coil
  14. land — a country
  15. spring — of water
  16. stock — shares
  17. race — a contest
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — child
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. key — the most important part
  22. lie — to recline
  23. key — in music
  24. stock — a soup base

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