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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pitch · branch · kick · spring · degree · fork

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. degree — temperature
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. branch — a division
  7. pitch — completely
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. kick — in football
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — in a road
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. degree — an amount
  15. spring — a coil
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. degree — from a university

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