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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: pitcher · branch · tear · bat · stock · rest · bulb · squash

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. squash — to crush
  7. stock — shares
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. rest — what's left
  11. stock — goods
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rest — what's left
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. rest — a break
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bulb — for light
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. branch — a division
  21. bulb — for light
  22. squash — the sport
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. tear — to rip

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