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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. key — for a lock
  3. fall — to drop
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — shares
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. fall — the season
  9. wound — an injury
  10. spring — of water
  11. mate — to breed
  12. spring — a coil
  13. key — in music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. key — the most important part
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — in music
  20. mate — a partner
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. spring — the season

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