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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: craft · wind · tube · stock · rush · branch · prune · present

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. wind — moving air
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. branch — a division
  7. stock — shares
  8. present — a gift
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. tube — a container
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. stock — goods
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. prune — to trim
  16. craft — boats
  17. present — there
  18. craft — a skill
  19. rush — hurry
  20. prune — to trim
  21. present — the time now
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. wind — moving air
  24. tube — in a tire

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