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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: season · leaves · press · club · stock · branch · pitcher · file

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. stock — goods
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. season — in sport
  5. file — a document
  6. press — a publisher
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. file — a tool
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. club — for golf
  13. stock — shares
  14. press — newspapers
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. file — a line of people
  17. club — a group
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. season — of the year
  21. press — to push
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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