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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: bowl · row · swing · nail · lean · chest · branch · game

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. lean — thin
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. branch — a division
  12. chest — a box
  13. game — a match
  14. game — wild animals
  15. row — to paddle
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. swing — to play on
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. swing — in golf
  23. row — a line
  24. swing — music

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