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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: saw · season · stock · net · branch · mine · cell · lie

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. lie — to recline
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. net — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. stock — goods
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. branch — a division
  13. saw — the tool
  14. season — in sport
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. net — after costs
  17. saw — the tool
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. net — for catching
  20. stock — shares
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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