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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · stock · wake · field · prune · bass · branch · fan

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. field — a subject
  4. stock — shares
  5. bass — the fish
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. field — for sport
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. field — farmland
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. wake — a trail
  16. prune — to trim
  17. branch — a division
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — government
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. stock — goods
  23. bass — low music
  24. fan — a supporter

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