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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. track — to keep track
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. dip — to sink
  10. file — a document
  11. stock — shares
  12. file — a tool
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. file — a line of people
  16. key — the most important part
  17. track — a song
  18. bat — the animal
  19. hand — help
  20. key — in music
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. track — a path
  24. key — for a lock

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