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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 120 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: chip · branch · pitch · fine · last · mouse · present · spring

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. last — finally
  4. chip — to eat
  5. spring — of water
  6. fine — high quality
  7. chip — for betting
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. last — final
  12. present — a gift
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. present — the time now
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. present — there
  18. spring — a coil
  19. pitch — completely
  20. branch — a division
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. last — to go on
  23. spring — the season
  24. mouse — the animal

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