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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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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: chip · pit · content · pitcher · arm · row · fall · branch

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. fall — to drop
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. fall — the season
  9. fall — to drop
  10. content — the amount
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. row — a line
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. pit — a hole
  17. chip — for betting
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. row — to paddle
  21. branch — a division
  22. chip — to eat
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — of a bank

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