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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. tube — the underground
  4. cap — a hat
  5. file — a document
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. tube — a container
  9. degree — temperature
  10. cap — of ice
  11. branch — a division
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. file — a tool
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cap — a lid
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. file — a line of people
  24. nail — for a hammer

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