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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: march · fork · branch · bound · plane · stock · degree · lash

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. branch — a division
  3. bound — obliged
  4. march — music
  5. degree — temperature
  6. fork — in a road
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. bound — tied together
  10. degree — an amount
  11. stock — shares
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bound — certain
  17. march — the month
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. march — the month
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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