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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: kid · branch · squash · mouse · root · chest · stock · leaves

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. squash — the sport
  5. root — of a plant
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. stock — shares
  10. chest — of your body
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. chest — a box
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. branch — a division
  16. squash — to crush
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. stock — goods
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — the cause
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. chest — of your body

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