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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 124 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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — completely
  3. tear — from crying
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. tear — to rip
  9. spring — a coil
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. band — a ring
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. branch — a division
  14. band — a music group
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. tear — from crying
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. spring — of water
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. spring — the season

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