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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: shower · track · stock · stand · spell · trunk · scale · snap

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. track — a song
  3. spell — magic
  4. track — to keep track
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. stock — shares
  7. track — a path
  8. scale — size or range
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. stand — to bear
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. spell — letters
  15. snap — to click
  16. shower — rain
  17. spell — a short time
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — in music
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. stock — goods

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