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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
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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: cold · track · bark · mark · mate · vault · spring · stock

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. stock — goods
  3. mark — a grade
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stock — shares
  6. spring — a coil
  7. mate — a friend
  8. track — a song
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. vault — a safe
  14. mate — a partner
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. mark — a trace
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bark — to shout
  19. spring — the season
  20. track — a path
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. spring — of water

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