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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: bank · stock · chest · ground · sharp · branch · kick · lean

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — clever
  4. bank — for money
  5. ground — a position
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bank — for money
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. ground — crushed
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — shares
  14. bank — of a river
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. kick — in football
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. lean — thin
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. lean — to bend
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. ground — the earth

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