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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: pit · chip · craft · shower · court · firm · branch · game

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. craft — boats
  4. chip — for betting
  5. court — of law
  6. branch — a division
  7. firm — decided
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. court — for sport
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. firm — steady
  14. game — a match
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. pit — a hole
  17. court — of a king
  18. game — wild animals
  19. pit — in a race
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. craft — a skill
  24. chip — to eat

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