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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: wound · bear · stock · game · club · key · chest · track

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. track — a path
  3. game — a match
  4. club — a group
  5. game — wild animals
  6. key — the most important part
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bear — the animal
  10. key — for a lock
  11. track — to keep track
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stock — goods
  14. bear — the animal
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. stock — shares
  17. club — for dancing
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. key — in music
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. wound — an injury
  22. club — for golf
  23. track — a song
  24. chest — a box

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