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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: root · saw · content · drill · pitch · bat · branch · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. content — happy
  3. race — the arms race
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — the amount
  7. drill — army training
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. root — of a plant
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — completely
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — the cause
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. race — a contest
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  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