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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: stock · track · tube · wind · land · bowl · squash · last

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. last — final
  3. land — a country
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. last — to go on
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — finally
  9. track — a path
  10. land — to come down
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. squash — the sport
  14. track — to keep track
  15. stock — goods
  16. land — ground
  17. stock — shares
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — the underground
  22. squash — to crush
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. squash — the vegetable

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