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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: stick · press · pitcher · swing · last · stock · capital · branch

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. swing — music
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. press — to push
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stock — goods
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. branch — a division
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. capital — money
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — in golf
  19. stock — shares
  20. last — to go on
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — newspapers
  23. capital — a city
  24. stock — a soup base

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