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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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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: bank · scale · tear · track · snap · charge · cold · stand

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. tear — from crying
  5. charge — electricity
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cold — an illness
  8. charge — a price
  9. bank — for money
  10. track — a song
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. cold — not warm
  13. scale — in music
  14. stand — to bear
  15. scale — size or range
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bank — of a river
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. track — to keep track
  20. bank — for money
  21. snap — to click
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. charge — in control
  24. stand — on your feet

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