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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. fork — in a road
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. scale — size or range
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. content — the amount
  10. branch — a division
  11. wound — an injury
  12. scale — in music
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. content — happy
  15. rash — hasty
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. band — a ring
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. rash — a series
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. wound — an injury
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. pitch — completely

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