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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 · stock · swing · charge · bear · mine · mate · shower

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. charge — electricity
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. mate — to breed
  6. branch — a division
  7. swing — in golf
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bear — the animal
  10. stock — shares
  11. mate — a friend
  12. shower — rain
  13. swing — to play on
  14. charge — a price
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. swing — music
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. shower — to wash
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. charge — in control
  21. bear — the animal
  22. stock — goods
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. mine — for digging

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