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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: mine · wave · squash · degree · stock · bark · branch · bat

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. degree — temperature
  5. squash — the sport
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. degree — an amount
  11. stock — goods
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bark — to shout
  17. branch — a division
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. mine — for digging
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. stock — shares
  23. squash — to crush
  24. wave — of the sea

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