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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: track · pop · capital · wound · racket · rash · drill · stock

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. pop — to visit
  3. capital — a city
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stock — shares
  6. drill — army training
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. drill — a practice
  9. track — a path
  10. drill — the tool
  11. pop — music
  12. capital — money
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. pop — soda
  16. track — a song
  17. rash — hasty
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rash — a series
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. stock — goods
  24. rash — on the skin

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