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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. degree — from a university
  4. prune — to trim
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. prune — to trim
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. plane — a tool
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. degree — an amount
  11. branch — a division
  12. swing — in golf
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. swing — to play on
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. season — in sport
  17. stock — shares
  18. swing — music
  19. season — of the year
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. degree — temperature
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. leaves — to go away

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