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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 · last · stick · clip · bound · staff · key · court

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. stock — goods
  3. court — of law
  4. bound — obliged
  5. staff — a stick
  6. clip — to cut
  7. last — to go on
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. bound — certain
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. court — of a king
  15. last — final
  16. stock — shares
  17. court — for sport
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — employees
  20. bound — tied together
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. key — for a lock
  23. last — finally
  24. key — in music

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