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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 120 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 · rash · stick · row · branch · cell · straw · mate

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. stock — shares
  3. mate — a friend
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — a series
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. row — a line
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. rash — hasty
  14. mate — a partner
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. cell — in biology
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. row — to paddle
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — a division
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. stock — goods

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