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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: branch · field · stock · mine · bear · roll · ground · season

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. roll — a cake
  4. bear — the animal
  5. ground — a position
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. field — a subject
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — in sport
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a list
  13. bear — the animal
  14. season — of the year
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — a division
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. field — for sport
  20. mine — for digging
  21. ground — the earth
  22. field — farmland
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — goods

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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