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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: chip · rash · band · stock · track · fall · cold · swing

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. cold — not warm
  5. stock — shares
  6. cold — an illness
  7. band — a ring
  8. rash — hasty
  9. track — to keep track
  10. swing — in golf
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. swing — to play on
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. track — a song
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. stock — goods
  18. band — a music group
  19. swing — music
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rash — a series
  22. fall — to drop
  23. track — a path
  24. chip — to eat

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