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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: branch · chair · ground · stock · staff · pop · lean · mine

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. mine — for digging
  3. staff — employees
  4. stock — shares
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. staff — employees
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pop — music
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. ground — the earth
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. lean — thin
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. lean — to bend
  15. staff — a stick
  16. ground — a position
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. branch — a division
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — to visit
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — goods
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — of a bank

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