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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: stock · season · mine · cabinet · lie · branch · march · foot

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. foot — a measure
  5. season — of the year
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. branch — a division
  11. stock — goods
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. march — the month
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. season — in sport
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. march — the month
  19. lie — to recline
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. stock — shares

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