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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: pitch · current · field · branch · shower · wind · staff · cabinet

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. field — farmland
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. field — a subject
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. branch — a division
  9. field — for sport
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. staff — employees
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. shower — rain
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. pitch — completely
  16. shower — to wash
  17. staff — a stick
  18. current — happening now
  19. staff — employees
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. current — of water

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