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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: file · pop · bat · cell · pitch · bass · branch · ground

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. bass — the fish
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. pop — music
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bass — low music
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. ground — crushed
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. branch — a division
  16. bat — the animal
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. pitch — completely
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. pop — to visit
  24. cell — in biology

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