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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · court · bass · key · trunk · stock

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. key — in music
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. ground — the earth
  8. court — of a king
  9. bass — low music
  10. court — of law
  11. ground — crushed
  12. stock — goods
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. court — for sport
  17. bass — the fish
  18. ground — a position

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