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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: kid · pitch · stock · game · bore · patient · rock · branch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. game — wild animals
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. rock — a stone
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bore — to drill
  11. kid — to tease
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. stock — shares
  14. rock — music
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. stock — goods
  18. branch — a division
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. bore — to tire
  21. kid — child
  22. pitch — completely
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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