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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 120 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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. key — in music
  5. object — to protest
  6. rash — hasty
  7. pop — to visit
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. key — for a lock
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. key — the most important part
  13. object — an aim
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. stock — goods
  16. pop — music
  17. object — a thing
  18. game — wild animals
  19. pop — soda
  20. rash — a series
  21. game — a match
  22. deal — to handle
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. rash — on the skin

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