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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 116 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: branch · spring · cell · pitch · pop · bat · safe · last

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. last — finally
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pop — music
  6. pitch — completely
  7. branch — a division
  8. pop — to visit
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. last — final
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. last — to go on
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. spring — of water
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. safe — a strongbox

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