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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: stock · press · spell · pop · track · branch · craft · land

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. land — ground
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. spell — letters
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — a short time
  8. land — a country
  9. stock — goods
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — music
  12. track — a path
  13. branch — a division
  14. track — to keep track
  15. pop — soda
  16. press — a publisher
  17. land — to come down
  18. track — a song
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. press — newspapers
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. craft — boats
  23. craft — a skill
  24. stock — shares

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