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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: content · track · wake · stock · cold · straw · pop · spell

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  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. content — videos and posts
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. track — to keep track
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. content — happy
  6. track — a path
  7. spell — a short time
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. spell — magic
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. spell — letters
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stock — shares
  16. content — the amount
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pop — to visit
  20. wake — a trail
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. track — a song
  23. straw — a straw man
  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