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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · chair · ball · patient · ground · branch · fall · wind

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. wind — moving air
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. ball — a great time
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stock — goods
  11. ground — crushed
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. fall — the season
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stock — shares
  19. chair — a leader
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. fall — to drop
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — a position
  24. ball — a dance

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