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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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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 · bank · chest · race · bat · cell

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — humankind
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bat — the animal
  9. branch — a division
  10. race — a contest
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bank — for money
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bank — of a river
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. bank — for money

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