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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: land · stick · capital · hide · stock · branch · snap · perch

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. perch — the fish
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. capital — money
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. stock — goods
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. land — a country
  14. capital — a city
  15. branch — a division
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. land — ground
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. land — to come down
  24. perch — for a bird

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