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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: hand · stock · current · spell · last · trunk · branch · rest

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. hand — help
  3. current — electric
  4. current — of water
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. last — finally
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. spell — a short time
  12. stock — goods
  13. spell — magic
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. spell — letters
  20. stock — shares
  21. rest — what's left
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. hand — in cards
  24. current — happening now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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