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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: lean · saw · bark · pitcher · stock · branch · ground · kick

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. lean — to bend
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. lean — thin
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. stock — shares
  12. saw — the tool
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. ground — a position
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. branch — a division
  18. kick — in football
  19. ground — the earth
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bark — to shout
  22. saw — the tool
  23. branch — of a bank
  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