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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stock · sharp · chair · spell · cold · track · mine · mug

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. track — to keep track
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. stock — shares
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. mug — to rob
  8. track — a path
  9. mug — a face
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. spell — a short time
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. sharp — clever
  15. spell — magic
  16. mug — a cup
  17. spell — letters
  18. chair — a leader
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. stock — goods
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. track — a song
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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