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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 116 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. land — to come down
  4. prune — to trim
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. land — ground
  9. stock — shares
  10. land — a country
  11. branch — a division
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. present — there
  17. band — a music group
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. prune — to trim
  20. stock — goods
  21. band — a ring
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — a gift

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