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

Word bank: pitch · branch · jam · temple · cell · fall · bark · chest

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cell — in biology
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. chest — of your body
  8. fall — to drop
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. cell — a phone
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pitch — completely
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. chest — a box
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. fall — the season
  24. bark — to shout

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