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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — shares
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. squash — the sport
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. court — for sport
  12. present — the time now
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. court — of law
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. court — of a king
  18. stock — goods
  19. branch — a division
  20. fork — in a road
  21. present — a gift
  22. squash — to crush
  23. present — there
  24. prune — to trim

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