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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: drill · track · stock · tear · branch · sharp · rush · wind

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. wind — moving air
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stock — goods
  5. sharp — clever
  6. stock — shares
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. drill — a practice
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. track — to keep track
  12. drill — army training
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. tear — from crying
  17. drill — the tool
  18. track — a path
  19. tear — to rip
  20. branch — a division
  21. track — a song
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rush — hurry

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