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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: wind · suit · fall · chest · pitcher · bark · rock · branch

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chest — a box
  4. bark — to shout
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rock — music
  8. chest — of your body
  9. suit — to fit
  10. suit — clothes
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. branch — a division
  14. fall — the season
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. wind — moving air
  22. suit — in cards
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. wind — to turn a key

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