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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.

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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: suit · cap · spring · row · chest · straw · stock · branch

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cap — a lid
  6. chest — a box
  7. spring — of water
  8. cap — of ice
  9. stock — goods
  10. branch — a division
  11. suit — clothes
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. chest — of your body
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. suit — to fit
  17. suit — in cards
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. spring — the season
  20. row — to paddle
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stock — shares
  24. cap — a hat

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