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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: leaves · court · stock · tear · game · key · current · dip

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. court — for sport
  3. key — the most important part
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. game — a match
  6. tear — to rip
  7. key — in music
  8. stock — goods
  9. dip — to sink
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — of water
  14. game — wild animals
  15. court — of law
  16. current — electric
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. key — for a lock
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. court — of a king
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to dunk

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