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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: wound · mate · firm · snap · stock · cold · bore · key

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. wound — an injury
  3. key — in music
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. mate — a partner
  7. wound — an injury
  8. key — the most important part
  9. firm — a company
  10. stock — shares
  11. key — for a lock
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. snap — to click
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bore — to drill
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. firm — decided
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. cold — an illness
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. stock — goods
  22. cold — not warm
  23. firm — steady
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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