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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  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. branch — of a tree
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. mark — a grade
  7. track — a song
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a path
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. face — to point toward
  14. last — finally
  15. branch — a division
  16. stock — shares
  17. cold — not warm
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. face — to confront
  22. fork — in a road
  23. face — part of the head
  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