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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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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 · fall · craft · mark · stock · pop · march · cold

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. stock — goods
  5. march — the month
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pop — soda
  8. craft — a skill
  9. fall — the season
  10. craft — boats
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. branch — a division
  13. pop — to visit
  14. march — the month
  15. stock — shares
  16. pop — music
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. march — music
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — a grade
  24. fall — to drop

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