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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. stock — goods
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. march — the month
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. sharp — clever
  8. stock — shares
  9. mark — a trace
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. march — the month
  14. branch — a division
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. mark — a grade
  22. march — music
  23. cold — an illness
  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