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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: deal · stem · straw · branch · drill · bat · game · pitcher

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. game — a match
  3. game — wild animals
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. deal — to handle
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. branch — a division
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bat — the animal
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. stem — to come from
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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