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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. tear — from crying
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pitch — completely
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. bear — the animal
  23. prune — to trim
  24. tear — to rip

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