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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: court · key · chest · wake · spell · present · capital · stock

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. spell — a short time
  4. present — there
  5. key — the most important part
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — shares
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. chest — of your body
  10. present — the time now
  11. court — of law
  12. capital — a city
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. court — for sport
  15. spell — magic
  16. chest — a box
  17. key — for a lock
  18. key — in music
  19. court — of a king
  20. chest — of your body
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. spell — letters
  24. present — a gift

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