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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. branch — a division
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. track — a path
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. shower — rain
  7. rash — a series
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. track — a song
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. track — to keep track
  13. date — the fruit
  14. shower — to wash
  15. stock — goods
  16. rash — hasty
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. stock — shares
  24. branch — of a bank

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