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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — size or range
  7. land — a country
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. rest — a break
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. pitch — completely
  13. row — a line
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rest — what's left
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle
  19. degree — temperature
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. scale — in music
  22. branch — a division
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cabinet — ministers

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