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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: game · branch · shower · pit · bear · mine · chip · toast

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. game — a match
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. pit — a hole
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. pit — in a race
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. game — wild animals
  12. shower — to wash
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. chip — for betting
  22. shower — rain
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. mine — for digging

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