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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. mug — a face
  3. stock — shares
  4. mate — a friend
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mug — to rob
  7. land — to come down
  8. saw — the tool
  9. key — in music
  10. prune — to trim
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. mug — a cup
  13. saw — the tool
  14. stock — goods
  15. file — a document
  16. land — ground
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. key — for a lock
  19. land — a country
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — to breed
  22. file — a tool
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. file — a line of people

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