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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 116 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. key — for a lock
  3. capital — money
  4. key — the most important part
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bound — certain
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bound — tied together
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. object — an aim
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. object — to protest
  13. rash — a series
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. branch — a division
  18. bound — obliged
  19. key — in music
  20. capital — a city
  21. row — a line
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. object — a thing

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