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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. lean — to bend
  6. pitch — completely
  7. race — humankind
  8. spring — of water
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. lean — thin
  11. race — a contest
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. spring — the season
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. spring — a coil
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. kick — in football
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. race — the arms race

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