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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: content · branch · track · chip · stock · bat · spell · degree

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. spell — magic
  2. chip — for betting
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. spell — a short time
  6. chip — to eat
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. spell — letters
  10. degree — an amount
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. content — happy
  13. stock — goods
  14. track — a song
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. content — the amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. track — a path
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — a division
  21. bat — the animal
  22. stock — shares
  23. degree — temperature
  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