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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: mine · branch · field · mug · capital · lash · stock · staff

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. mine — for digging
  6. field — farmland
  7. mug — a face
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. stock — goods
  10. staff — employees
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. mug — to rob
  16. staff — employees
  17. field — a subject
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mug — a cup
  20. capital — money
  21. branch — a division
  22. stock — shares
  23. capital — a city
  24. staff — a stick

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