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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 120 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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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 · ground · kid · cabinet · bay · fall · branch

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. stock — goods
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. key — for a lock
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. ground — a position
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. ground — the earth
  16. key — in music
  17. key — the most important part
  18. stock — shares
  19. branch — a division
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. branch — of a tree

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