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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. prune — to trim
  3. branch — a division
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cold — not warm
  6. prune — to trim
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. stock — goods
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cue — for pool
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — completely
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. track — to keep track
  17. cue — a hint
  18. cue — a signal
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. track — a song
  21. track — a path
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. stock — shares
  24. cold — the Cold War

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