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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. land — ground
  3. stock — shares
  4. plane — a tool
  5. key — in music
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. land — to come down
  9. key — for a lock
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. kick — in football
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. clip — for paper
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stock — goods
  17. clip — a video
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. land — a country
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. plane — in geometry

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