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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mine · last · key · stock · spring · cabinet · swing · object

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. key — in music
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. object — a thing
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. last — to go on
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — shares
  9. mine — for digging
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — an aim
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. spring — the season
  14. last — finally
  15. swing — to play on
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. swing — music
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. key — for a lock
  23. swing — in golf
  24. key — the most important part

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