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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: last · net · stock · key · wax · date · spring · chest

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. chest — of your body
  3. last — to go on
  4. stock — goods
  5. last — finally
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. key — for a lock
  8. stock — shares
  9. chest — a box
  10. net — for catching
  11. spring — of water
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. key — in music
  16. date — the fruit
  17. wax — to grow
  18. last — final
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. spring — the season
  21. chest — of your body
  22. key — the most important part
  23. net — after costs
  24. spring — a coil

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