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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. stock — goods
  6. rush — hurry
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. mark — a trace
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. stock — shares
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a grade
  18. pitcher — in baseball

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