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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: branch · spring · toast · field · stock · rest · wind · ruler

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wind — moving air
  7. toast — bread
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. wind — moving air
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. field — farmland
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. rest — what's left
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. stock — shares
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. spring — of water
  20. field — for sport
  21. branch — a division
  22. spring — the season
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — goods

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