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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: bank · key · spell · season · rash · cap · wind · stock

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. wind — moving air
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — magic
  6. cap — of ice
  7. key — the most important part
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bank — of a river
  13. cap — a lid
  14. season — in sport
  15. key — in music
  16. cap — a hat
  17. season — of the year
  18. spell — letters
  19. key — for a lock
  20. stock — shares
  21. bank — for money
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stock — goods
  24. bank — for money

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