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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: mate · branch · spring · press · stock · chest · season · wake

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  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. stock — a soup base
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. chest — of your body
  6. season — in sport
  7. stock — shares
  8. season — of the year
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — newspapers
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. mate — a friend
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — a trail
  19. branch — a division
  20. spring — a coil
  21. mate — a partner
  22. press — to push
  23. mate — to breed
  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