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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: drill · wound · stock · tube · charge · track · straw · mate

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. track — a path
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. wound — an injury
  6. drill — army training
  7. track — to keep track
  8. charge — a price
  9. mate — a partner
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. charge — in control
  12. tube — the underground
  13. stock — shares
  14. tube — a container
  15. track — a song
  16. charge — electricity
  17. drill — the tool
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. drill — a practice
  21. mate — to breed
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mate — a friend
  24. wound — an injury

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