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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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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: row · sharp · field · mine · tube · straw · track · stock

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. track — a path
  3. field — farmland
  4. stock — goods
  5. mine — for digging
  6. row — to paddle
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. field — for sport
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. field — a subject
  11. tube — a container
  12. sharp — clever
  13. tube — the underground
  14. track — a song
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. row — a line
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. track — to keep track
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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