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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 116 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: stock · key · wave · cap · court · bound · spring · pitcher

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cap — a hat
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. spring — a coil
  6. key — in music
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. court — of law
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bound — certain
  12. stock — goods
  13. court — of a king
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — the most important part
  16. court — for sport
  17. spring — of water
  18. stock — shares
  19. bound — obliged
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. spring — the season
  24. stock — a soup base

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