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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  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. branch — a division
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. net — in sport
  7. pit — a hole
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. net — for catching
  11. pit — in a race
  12. row — to paddle
  13. swing — in golf
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. row — a line
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. net — after costs
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. stock — shares
  20. mine — for digging
  21. swing — music
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  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