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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. scale — in music
  3. ground — a position
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. stock — shares
  7. ground — crushed
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. key — the most important part
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stock — goods
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. track — a song
  15. key — in music
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wind — moving air
  19. key — for a lock
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. ground — the earth
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. track — a path
  24. scale — size or range

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