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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: cold · lash · stock · club · stand · branch · date · pitcher

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. club — for golf
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. club — a group
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stock — goods
  17. club — for dancing
  18. branch — a division
  19. stock — shares
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. stand — to bear

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