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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. stock — goods
  3. spring — of water
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bank — for money
  7. spring — the season
  8. key — in music
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bank — for money
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bank — of a river
  18. key — for a lock
  19. key — the most important part
  20. stock — shares
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cold — an illness
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. nail — on a finger

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