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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — music
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. band — a ring
  10. ground — the earth
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pitch — completely
  13. row — a line
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. ground — a position
  16. swing — in golf
  17. branch — a division
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. band — a music group
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wake — a trail
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. stem — of a plant

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