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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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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. march — the month
  3. stock — shares
  4. branch — a division
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. fine — high quality
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. fine — all right
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. march — music
  14. kid — child
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. stock — goods
  17. march — the month
  18. racket — a loud noise

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