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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: snap · date · fan · stock · row · track · sharp · march

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. track — a path
  3. march — the month
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. row — to paddle
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. march — music
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. track — a song
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — shares
  21. march — the month
  22. date — the fruit
  23. track — to keep track
  24. row — a line

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