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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: branch · bound · stock · racket · field · shower · court · press

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. field — a subject
  6. court — for sport
  7. shower — rain
  8. court — of a king
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. stock — goods
  11. court — of law
  12. field — for sport
  13. press — to push
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. bound — certain
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. stock — shares
  18. field — farmland
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bound — tied together
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. branch — a division

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