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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: season · deal · march · file · stock · mine · track · ball

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. ball — a dance
  4. stock — goods
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. deal — to handle
  7. season — in sport
  8. stock — shares
  9. file — a document
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. track — a path
  12. mine — for digging
  13. march — the month
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. march — music
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. march — the month
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. track — a song
  21. ball — a great time
  22. track — to keep track
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. stock — a soup base

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