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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: field · press · jam · rash · degree · branch · stock · date

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. press — a publisher
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. stock — goods
  5. field — a subject
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. degree — temperature
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. press — to push
  10. press — newspapers
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. stock — shares
  13. degree — from a university
  14. date — the fruit
  15. branch — a division
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. field — farmland
  18. rash — a series
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. rash — hasty
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. branch — of a bank

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