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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. stock — shares
  3. key — for a lock
  4. bat — the animal
  5. squash — to crush
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. net — in sport
  9. key — the most important part
  10. cell — in biology
  11. stock — goods
  12. key — in music
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cell — a phone
  18. squash — the sport
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. bound — certain
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — for catching

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