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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 · nail · pitcher · rule · bark · chest · rush · row

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. row — a line
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. branch — a division
  5. rush — hurry
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. rule — government
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. row — to paddle
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rule — a law
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pitcher — a jug

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