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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: wound · straw · court · wind · key · mate · stock · staff

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. staff — employees
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mate — to breed
  6. key — the most important part
  7. court — of law
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. key — for a lock
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. mate — a partner
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mate — a friend
  15. staff — employees
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. staff — a stick
  19. wound — an injury
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. key — in music
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. wind — to turn a key

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