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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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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: bore · branch · deal · stock · cell · ground · spring · chest

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. stock — goods
  3. deal — to handle
  4. stock — shares
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. ground — the earth
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bore — to drill
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. cell — a phone
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. spring — a coil
  17. chest — a box
  18. bore — to tire
  19. branch — a division
  20. spring — of water
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. cell — in biology
  23. chest — of your body
  24. branch — of a bank

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