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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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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 · last · kid · net · rest · pop · ground · key

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. kid — child
  3. ground — the earth
  4. stock — goods
  5. last — to go on
  6. kid — to tease
  7. last — final
  8. key — in music
  9. key — the most important part
  10. pop — music
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. rest — what's left
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. key — for a lock
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — to visit
  21. stock — shares
  22. last — finally
  23. ground — a position
  24. net — after costs

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