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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: branch · chest · arm · current · shower · cell · row · ground

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. cell — in biology
  3. branch — a division
  4. current — of water
  5. ground — a position
  6. chest — of your body
  7. shower — to wash
  8. cell — a phone
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. shower — rain
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. current — electric
  15. chest — of your body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. ground — the earth
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. ground — crushed
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. current — happening now
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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