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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 124 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. stock — goods
  4. key — for a lock
  5. stock — shares
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. ground — crushed
  8. game — a match
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. key — the most important part
  11. court — of a king
  12. bank — for money
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of law
  16. chair — a leader
  17. ground — the earth
  18. game — wild animals
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. ground — a position
  21. bank — of a river
  22. key — in music
  23. deal — to handle
  24. bank — for money

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