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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 · bear · bat · branch · date · rest · capital · trunk

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. pitch — completely
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bat — the animal
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. rest — what's left
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. capital — money
  9. rest — what's left
  10. capital — a city
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rest — a break
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. date — the fruit
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. branch — a division

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