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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: snap · row · stock · track · last · cold · charge · ball

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. stock — goods
  3. last — finally
  4. track — to keep track
  5. last — final
  6. snap — to click
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a great time
  9. cold — an illness
  10. charge — in control
  11. charge — electricity
  12. track — a path
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. track — a song
  16. last — to go on
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a line
  20. stock — shares
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. charge — a price
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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