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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: tear · stock · branch · ground · row · last · band · object

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — the earth
  3. object — a thing
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. ground — a position
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. object — an aim
  10. last — finally
  11. last — final
  12. object — to protest
  13. stock — goods
  14. band — a ring
  15. tear — from crying
  16. row — a line
  17. last — to go on
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. stock — shares
  21. branch — a division
  22. row — to paddle
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. band — a music group

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