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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: branch · bark · court · ground · stock · tear · cap · board

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. cap — of ice
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. branch — a division
  7. cap — a hat
  8. court — for sport
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bark — to shout
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stock — goods
  17. cap — a lid
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. court — of a king
  20. board — a committee
  21. court — of law
  22. ground — crushed
  23. tear — to rip
  24. board — to get on

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