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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 120 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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bore — to tire
  5. craft — a skill
  6. swing — in golf
  7. race — a contest
  8. branch — a division
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. race — the arms race
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. craft — boats
  14. swing — to play on
  15. pitch — completely
  16. race — humankind
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to drill
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. swing — music

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