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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: ground · trunk · roll · club · tube · pitch · branch · straw

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. pitch — completely
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. ground — crushed
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. tube — the underground
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. ground — a position
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. ground — the earth
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — a cake
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — a group
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. branch — a division
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. tube — a container

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