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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: branch · pit · race · jam · last · pitcher · chest · patient

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. last — final
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. last — to go on
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. pit — in a race
  8. branch — a division
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. chest — of your body
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. race — humankind
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. chest — a box
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. last — finally
  22. chest — of your body
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — a contest

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