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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: row · branch · press · bark · file · bear · kid · stock

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. row — a line
  3. stock — shares
  4. file — a line of people
  5. kid — child
  6. row — to paddle
  7. file — a document
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bear — the animal
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. branch — a division
  14. stock — goods
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. bark — to shout
  18. file — a tool
  19. press — to push
  20. bear — the animal
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. press — a publisher

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