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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: chest · branch · drill · dip · pitcher · pass · game · rule

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. rule — government
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. pass — a permit
  6. chest — of your body
  7. drill — a practice
  8. branch — a division
  9. dip — to sink
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. drill — army training
  18. chest — a box
  19. rule — a law
  20. game — a match
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. drill — the tool
  24. dip — to dunk

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