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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: race · band · mouse · branch · stem · dip · spring · pitch

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. race — humankind
  3. band — a music group
  4. spring — the season
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. race — the arms race
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. race — a contest
  15. branch — a division
  16. stem — to come from
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. spring — a coil
  19. band — a ring
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. spring — of water

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