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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: date · mate · object · march · branch · cold · pitcher · stock

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. stock — goods
  3. march — music
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mate — to breed
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stock — shares
  9. cold — not warm
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. object — an aim
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. object — to protest
  14. branch — a division
  15. date — the fruit
  16. march — the month
  17. mate — a partner
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. mate — a friend
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. object — a thing

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