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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 116 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: stock · kid · bore · perch · pitch · fall · dip · branch

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  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. dip — to dunk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. dip — to sink
  5. kid — to tease
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bore — to tire
  9. kid — child
  10. pitch — completely
  11. stock — shares
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. bore — to drill
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. fall — to drop
  23. branch — of a bank
  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