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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: stock · field · branch · capital · present · bark · land · pop

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. pop — music
  3. field — a subject
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. pop — to visit
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — money
  9. branch — a division
  10. land — to come down
  11. pop — soda
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — the time now
  16. land — ground
  17. land — a country
  18. stock — shares
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. stock — goods
  21. present — there
  22. field — farmland
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. field — for sport

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