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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: safe · date · stock · toast · tube · land · branch · cold

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. tube — a container
  4. toast — bread
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. cold — an illness
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stock — shares
  13. branch — a division
  14. land — a country
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. land — to come down
  17. tube — the underground
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. date — the fruit
  23. land — ground
  24. safe — out of danger

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