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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. branch — a division
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. kid — to tease
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. prune — to trim
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. chair — a leader
  16. kid — child
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — shares
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. pass — a permit
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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