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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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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: bowl · stick · chest · chair · branch · stem · pit · march

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. branch — a division
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. march — the month
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. pit — a hole
  10. chair — a leader
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pit — in a race
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. chest — a box

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