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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: mine · swing · key · ground · chest · last · stock · bear

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stock — shares
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bear — the animal
  7. swing — to play on
  8. chest — of your body
  9. ground — crushed
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. ground — a position
  12. chest — a box
  13. swing — music
  14. key — the most important part
  15. key — in music
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. key — for a lock
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bear — the animal
  21. stock — goods
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. last — final
  24. swing — in golf

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