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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 120 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: cap · cold · branch · dip · stock · pitcher · staff · band

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. stock — shares
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. staff — a stick
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cap — a hat
  11. stock — goods
  12. band — a music group
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cap — of ice
  15. dip — to sink
  16. band — a ring
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. staff — employees
  20. cold — an illness
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — not warm
  23. branch — a division
  24. cap — a lid

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