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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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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: stock · date · shower · perch · root · mine · branch · jam

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. root — of a plant
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. shower — rain
  5. perch — the fish
  6. date — the fruit
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. branch — a division
  13. root — the cause
  14. stock — goods
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. shower — to wash
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. stock — shares
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. root — of a word
  24. jam — a tight spot

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