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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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468
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: game · cell · branch · pit · bowl · pitcher · cabinet · squash

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. pit — a hole
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. squash — the sport
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. game — a match
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. game — wild animals
  21. branch — a division
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — to crush
  24. pit — in a race

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