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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stem — to come from
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. court — of a king
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. perch — the fish
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. court — of law
  17. court — for sport
  18. prune — to trim
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. branch — a division
  22. stock — shares
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. stock — goods

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