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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 120 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: bowl · kick · bark · pitcher · fall · stock · branch · pass

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. fall — the season
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — goods
  11. branch — a division
  12. kick — in football
  13. stock — shares
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. pass — a permit
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. fall — to drop
  24. kick — a thrill

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