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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: track · band · snap · mate · leaves · stock · mine · hand

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. mate — a partner
  5. band — a ring
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. hand — help
  9. track — to keep track
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. stock — goods
  12. snap — to click
  13. mate — to breed
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. band — a music group
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. track — a path
  20. hand — in cards
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. track — a song
  24. mine — for digging

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