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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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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: bound · race · staff · branch · row · fall · stock · jam

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. stock — goods
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. fall — to drop
  5. staff — employees
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. bound — obliged
  8. staff — employees
  9. bound — tied together
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. bound — certain
  12. fall — to drop
  13. row — to paddle
  14. race — a contest
  15. fall — the season
  16. race — humankind
  17. staff — a stick
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. stock — shares
  20. race — the arms race
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. row — a line
  24. branch — a division

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