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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: present · cold · branch · leaves · band · court · straw · stock

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. cold — not warm
  3. band — a music group
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. stock — goods
  7. cold — an illness
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. band — a ring
  10. present — the time now
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — there
  15. court — of a king
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. branch — a division
  20. court — of law
  21. stock — shares
  22. court — for sport
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. leaves — lets stay

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