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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · branch · pitch · pop · wave · sharp · swing · bark

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. pop — to visit
  4. chest — a box
  5. swing — to play on
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. sharp — clever
  12. swing — in golf
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — music
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. swing — music
  22. bark — to shout
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. sharp — with an edge

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