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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: wind · fall · cabinet · key · object · wake · stock · straw

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. object — to protest
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. wake — a trail
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — shares
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. fall — to drop
  13. object — an aim
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. object — a thing
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. key — for a lock
  19. fall — to drop
  20. key — in music
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. fall — the season
  23. stock — goods
  24. wind — moving air

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