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

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. swing — music
  5. file — a tool
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. fall — the season
  10. file — a line of people
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. fall — to drop
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. stock — goods
  15. swing — to play on
  16. branch — a division
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. pitch — completely
  19. file — a document
  20. swing — in golf
  21. stock — shares
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. lash — an eyelash
  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