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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: racket · branch · stem · bulb · drill · pitch · trunk · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. wind — moving air
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bulb — for light
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. drill — the tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. stem — to come from
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — army training
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. pitch — completely
  24. stem — a stem cell

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