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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: file · mark · track · scale · game · cold · fine · stock

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — in music
  4. track — a song
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mark — a trace
  9. stock — goods
  10. scale — size or range
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a match
  13. fine — high quality
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mark — a grade
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. track — a path
  22. fine — all right
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. track — to keep track

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