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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 · chip · arm · shower · bat · pitch · root · trunk

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. branch — a division
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. shower — to wash
  17. chip — to eat
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — of a word
  22. shower — rain
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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