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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — for a lock
  4. spring — the season
  5. drill — army training
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. shower — rain
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. drill — a practice
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. key — in music
  13. drill — the tool
  14. shower — to wash
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. spring — of water
  20. stock — shares
  21. mine — for digging
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. pass — a permit
  24. spring — a coil

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