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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 120 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. stock — goods
  3. cue — for pool
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. pit — in a race
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. cue — a hint
  11. file — a document
  12. spring — a coil
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. file — a tool
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. cue — a signal
  19. squash — the sport
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. squash — to crush
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pit — a hole

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