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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: mate · spring · wound · firm · stock · sharp · track · hand

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. track — to keep track
  3. firm — decided
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. firm — a company
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. hand — in cards
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. hand — help
  11. mate — to breed
  12. stock — goods
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. track — a song
  15. mate — a partner
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. stock — shares
  23. mate — a friend
  24. track — a path

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