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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: field · jam · tear · fork · capital · object · branch · pitch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. field — a subject
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. branch — a division
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. object — a thing
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. capital — money
  10. tear — from crying
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. capital — a city
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — in a road
  19. tear — to rip
  20. field — farmland
  21. object — an aim
  22. field — for sport
  23. object — to protest
  24. tear — from crying

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