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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. track — a song
  4. stock — goods
  5. lean — thin
  6. stock — shares
  7. track — to keep track
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. last — final
  10. file — a tool
  11. mine — for digging
  12. face — to point toward
  13. lean — to bend
  14. file — a document
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. last — to go on
  17. branch — a division
  18. file — a line of people
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to confront
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. track — a path
  24. last — finally

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