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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. swing — to play on
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. clip — a video
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. roll — a cake
  11. tube — a container
  12. bear — the animal
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. branch — a division
  19. tube — the underground
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. swing — music
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bear — the animal

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