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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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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: foot · branch · bound · stock · degree · march · spring · wake

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. foot — a measure
  3. march — the month
  4. bound — certain
  5. march — the month
  6. stock — goods
  7. degree — from a university
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. march — music
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bound — obliged
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bound — tied together
  17. spring — the season
  18. stock — shares
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wake — a trail
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. foot — the bottom

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