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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: hand · bound · stock · fall · roll · branch · face · dip

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. stock — shares
  3. roll — a cake
  4. hand — help
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — to sink
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stock — goods
  11. fall — to drop
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. face — to confront
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — obliged
  19. roll — a list
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. face — part of the head
  24. fall — the season

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