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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. spring — of water
  3. season — of the year
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. date — the fruit
  6. spring — the season
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. last — final
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. season — in sport
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. last — finally
  14. spring — a coil
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. key — in music
  17. stock — goods
  18. last — to go on
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. key — the most important part
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stock — shares
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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