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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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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stem — to come from
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. bear — the animal
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. branch — a division
  18. bear — the animal

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