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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: bear · march · staff · last · stock · branch · pitch · rash

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. last — to go on
  3. march — the month
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. staff — employees
  7. branch — a division
  8. march — music
  9. rash — hasty
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. march — the month
  12. stock — goods
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. pitch — completely
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bear — the animal
  17. last — final
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. staff — a stick
  20. rash — a series
  21. last — finally
  22. bear — the animal
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. staff — employees

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