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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: shower · mug · stock · bark · branch · march · deal · fall

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. stock — goods
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. fall — the season
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. march — music
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. mug — to rob
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. mug — a face
  16. shower — to wash
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bark — to shout
  19. mug — a cup
  20. shower — rain
  21. deal — to handle
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. deal — an agreement

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