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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: cabinet · rush · board · bowl · field · branch · pitcher · row

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a committee
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. branch — a division
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. rush — hurry
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. field — a subject

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