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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 116 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: stock · present · wind · snap · cabinet · track · cell · rule

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. present — the time now
  3. snap — to click
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. rule — government
  6. present — there
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. cell — in biology
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. stock — goods
  13. present — a gift
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. track — a path
  18. rule — a law
  19. track — a song
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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