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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: branch · stick · stock · season · trunk · clip · ball · file

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. file — a line of people
  7. season — in sport
  8. file — a tool
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. stock — goods
  12. clip — for paper
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. file — a document
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. ball — a dance
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stock — shares
  20. season — of the year
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. ball — a great time
  23. branch — a division
  24. stock — a soup base

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