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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: stock · date · spring · cabinet · land · field · key · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. field — for sport
  3. spring — of water
  4. stock — goods
  5. last — final
  6. land — a country
  7. key — for a lock
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. key — in music
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. field — a subject
  13. key — the most important part
  14. date — the fruit
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. last — to go on
  20. spring — a coil
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. stock — shares
  23. spring — the season
  24. field — farmland

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