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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: face · bowl · stock · branch · clip · mine · mate · squash

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. mate — a friend
  4. face — to confront
  5. clip — for paper
  6. stock — shares
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. clip — a video
  9. face — to point toward
  10. branch — a division
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. squash — the sport
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. face — part of the head
  21. mine — for digging
  22. squash — to crush
  23. stock — goods
  24. clip — to cut

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