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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 116 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: row · game · bore · dip · branch · rash · bowl · chair

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. row — to paddle
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bore — to tire
  11. rash — a series
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. branch — a division
  14. rash — hasty
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. row — a line
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. chair — a leader
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. dip — to sink

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