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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. roll — a list
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. stock — shares
  8. bass — low music
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. bass — the fish
  11. stock — goods
  12. branch — a division
  13. stem — to come from
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bear — the animal
  20. roll — a cake
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bear — the animal
  24. pitch — completely

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