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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 · patient · bark · branch · wound · scale · tube · trunk

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. scale — size or range
  4. tube — the underground
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. scale — in music
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. tube — a container
  11. wound — an injury
  12. branch — a division
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bark — to shout
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wound — an injury
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. stock — shares
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. stock — goods
  24. scale — for weighing

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