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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 120 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: stock · stem · degree · swing · trunk · branch · current · cabinet

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. swing — in golf
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. degree — temperature
  9. stock — goods
  10. current — electric
  11. branch — a division
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stem — to come from
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. stock — shares
  16. current — happening now
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. current — of water
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — music
  24. branch — of a tree

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