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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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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: patient · branch · swing · stock · track · deal · bound · cold

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. branch — a division
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bound — tied together
  6. stock — shares
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. track — to keep track
  9. swing — to play on
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. track — a path
  13. bound — obliged
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bound — certain
  18. swing — music
  19. track — a song
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. swing — in golf
  24. cold — an illness

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