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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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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: spring · racket · cold · key · stock · mark · shower · rest

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. mark — a grade
  3. spring — a coil
  4. rest — a break
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. shower — rain
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. key — in music
  9. spring — the season
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. rest — what's left
  15. shower — to wash
  16. stock — shares
  17. rest — what's left
  18. key — for a lock
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. mark — a trace
  21. key — the most important part
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. spring — of water
  24. cold — an illness

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