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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. current — electric
  3. scale — size or range
  4. root — of a plant
  5. present — a gift
  6. scale — in music
  7. pitch — completely
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. current — happening now
  11. root — the cause
  12. cold — not warm
  13. current — of water
  14. swing — to play on
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. swing — in golf
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. present — the time now
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. branch — a division
  22. swing — music
  23. root — of a word
  24. present — there

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