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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. stock — shares
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. root — the cause
  12. stock — goods
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. root — of a word
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. branch — a division
  18. root — of a plant
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — hasty
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. prune — to trim
  24. branch — of a tree

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