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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: mug · content · bank · trunk · branch · stock · band · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. content — the amount
  3. mug — to rob
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. content — happy
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bank — for money
  8. row — a line
  9. branch — a division
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. band — a ring
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bank — for money
  15. mug — a face
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. band — a music group
  19. stock — goods
  20. mug — a cup
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. stock — shares
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bank — of a river

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