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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 120 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: deal · bound · drill · track · wind · spring · stock · cell

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. track — to keep track
  3. cell — in biology
  4. stock — goods
  5. drill — a practice
  6. deal — to handle
  7. spring — a coil
  8. stock — shares
  9. bound — certain
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bound — obliged
  12. drill — the tool
  13. track — a path
  14. track — a song
  15. wind — moving air
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. drill — army training
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wind — moving air
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. cell — a phone

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