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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. net — after costs
  3. stock — shares
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. net — in sport
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. track — to keep track
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. branch — a division
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. stock — goods
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. track — a path
  17. stem — to come from
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. track — a song
  21. wound — an injury
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. net — for catching
  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