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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: key · stick · cell · court · rash · stock · mine · kid

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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. court — of a king
  2. key — for a lock
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. rash — hasty
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. cell — a phone
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. kid — to tease
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. stock — shares
  13. mine — for digging
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. court — for sport
  16. rash — a series
  17. key — in music
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. cell — in biology
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stock — goods
  22. kid — child
  23. court — of law
  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