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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: pop · pound · stock · court · cell · bat · root · branch

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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. pound — to hit hard
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. root — of a plant
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. branch — a division
  8. root — the cause
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pound — a weight
  11. cell — a phone
  12. pop — music
  13. court — of a king
  14. root — of a word
  15. pop — to visit
  16. cell — in biology
  17. court — for sport
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — goods
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pop — soda
  23. court — of law
  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