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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: stock · bound · branch · pit · shower · rash · net · cell

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. net — for catching
  5. rash — a series
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. bound — tied together
  8. pit — in a race
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bound — certain
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. net — after costs
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. net — in sport
  18. stock — shares
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bound — obliged
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. shower — rain
  24. branch — a division

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