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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 120 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: cabinet · stock · pit · track · spring · mine · wound · file

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. pit — a hole
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — shares
  6. mine — for digging
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. spring — of water
  9. file — a line of people
  10. spring — a coil
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. wound — an injury
  14. track — to keep track
  15. spring — the season
  16. file — a tool
  17. track — a song
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. track — a path
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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