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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 120 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 · craft · field · pitcher · hand · branch · file · bank

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. branch — a division
  3. file — a line of people
  4. chest — of your body
  5. file — a document
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bank — for money
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. hand — in cards
  10. field — farmland
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. craft — a skill
  13. chest — of your body
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. craft — boats
  17. field — a subject
  18. file — a tool
  19. hand — help
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. chest — a box
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. field — for sport
  24. bank — for money

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