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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 · stock · land · bark · wax · mate · deal · track

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. stock — shares
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. track — to keep track
  6. bark — to shout
  7. land — to come down
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. deal — to handle
  12. track — a song
  13. wax — to grow
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. stock — goods
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. track — a path
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mate — a friend
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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