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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: prune · present · stock · mine · key · pound · chair · clip

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. present — there
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. stock — goods
  5. clip — for paper
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. key — in music
  8. prune — to trim
  9. present — the time now
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. clip — to cut
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — shares
  17. pound — a weight
  18. clip — a video
  19. chair — a leader
  20. prune — to trim
  21. present — a gift
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. key — for a lock

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