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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 · stock · trunk · cabinet · wind · file · pop · key

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. key — the most important part
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. stock — goods
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. wind — moving air
  10. file — a tool
  11. pop — soda
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. file — a line of people
  14. wind — moving air
  15. track — a path
  16. stock — shares
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pop — music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. track — a song
  21. file — a document
  22. track — to keep track
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. key — in music

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