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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: stock · pop · content · branch · tear · rock · drill · toast

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. content — the amount
  3. stock — shares
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. tear — to rip
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. pop — to visit
  8. toast — bread
  9. content — happy
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. tear — from crying
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. branch — a division
  15. rock — a stone
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. rock — music
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. drill — army training
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. stock — goods
  24. content — videos and posts

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