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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 · march · stock · game · chair · content · rush · saw

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. key — for a lock
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. stock — shares
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rush — hurry
  8. stock — goods
  9. march — the month
  10. content — the amount
  11. saw — the tool
  12. march — music
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. saw — the tool
  17. chair — a leader
  18. key — the most important part
  19. march — the month
  20. content — happy
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. game — a match
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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