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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: stock · mate · kid · chair · branch · bound · swing · root

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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. bound — obliged
  4. stock — shares
  5. kid — child
  6. bound — tied together
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. mate — a partner
  9. stock — goods
  10. bound — certain
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. swing — in golf
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. mate — a friend
  15. branch — a division
  16. root — of a word
  17. swing — to play on
  18. root — the cause
  19. chair — a leader
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. swing — music
  22. mate — to breed
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. root — of a plant

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