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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: lie · ball · row · branch · straw · capital · mark · pitch

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. capital — money
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. ball — a great time
  5. mark — a grade
  6. lie — to recline
  7. row — a line
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mark — a trace
  11. capital — a city
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. pitch — completely
  17. branch — a division
  18. ball — a dance
  19. row — to paddle
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — dry grass

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