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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: kid · stock · bulb · bear · bound · clip · stand · branch

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. kid — child
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bulb — for light
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. bear — the animal
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bulb — for light
  11. kid — to tease
  12. clip — a video
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — obliged
  16. branch — a division
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bear — the animal
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stock — shares
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stock — goods

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