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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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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: snap · tear · bear · chest · branch · file · fine · stock

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. stock — goods
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. stock — shares
  6. bear — the animal
  7. tear — to rip
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. tear — from crying
  11. snap — to click
  12. chest — a box
  13. fine — high quality
  14. chest — of your body
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bear — the animal
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. chest — of your body
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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