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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: rule · race · net · spring · stock · branch · perch · rash

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. race — a contest
  5. spring — a coil
  6. stock — shares
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. net — after costs
  9. spring — the season
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stock — goods
  12. rash — hasty
  13. net — in sport
  14. rule — a law
  15. perch — the fish
  16. net — for catching
  17. race — the arms race
  18. rash — a series
  19. branch — a division
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — government
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. race — humankind
  24. spring — of water

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