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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: tube · bat · stock · mine · clip · key · pit · stand

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — the underground
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. mine — for digging
  8. key — for a lock
  9. clip — a video
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. pit — a hole
  12. stand — to bear
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. stock — shares
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. clip — to cut
  20. key — in music
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. stock — goods
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. clip — for paper

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