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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: rest · row · cap · pitch · date · file · branch · clip

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. branch — a division
  3. cap — a hat
  4. rest — what's left
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. file — a line of people
  7. clip — for paper
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. clip — a video
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cap — of ice
  17. date — the fruit
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — completely
  22. rest — what's left
  23. row — a line
  24. rest — a break

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