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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: stock · spring · cue · kick · mate · content · track · wound

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wound — an injury
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. cue — a hint
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. cue — for pool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. content — the amount
  11. track — to keep track
  12. mate — to breed
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — goods
  16. track — a song
  17. cue — a signal
  18. mate — a friend
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. kick — in football
  22. content — happy
  23. track — a path
  24. kick — a thrill

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