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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: firm · drill · stock · bank · spell · key · last · march

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. firm — a company
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — of a river
  7. stock — shares
  8. drill — a practice
  9. spell — a short time
  10. last — to go on
  11. firm — steady
  12. key — for a lock
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — letters
  15. march — the month
  16. bank — for money
  17. last — finally
  18. last — final
  19. stock — goods
  20. drill — army training
  21. march — the month
  22. firm — decided
  23. march — music
  24. key — in music

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