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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: dip · chest · content · stock · spring · track · swing · bat

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. track — a path
  4. spring — of water
  5. chest — a box
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. dip — to sink
  9. track — a song
  10. bat — the animal
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. content — the amount
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. stock — goods
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spring — the season
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. content — happy
  23. stock — shares
  24. swing — 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