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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. track — a path
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. fall — to drop
  5. pop — soda
  6. track — a song
  7. bat — the animal
  8. branch — a division
  9. pitch — completely
  10. last — final
  11. pop — music
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. track — to keep track
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. season — of the year
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. season — in sport
  21. last — finally
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. pop — to visit
  24. last — to go on

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