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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: pitch · kid · stick · date · branch · bulb · temple · current

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. kid — to tease
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. current — electric
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. kid — child
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. current — of water
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. current — happening now
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bulb — for light
  22. date — the fruit
  23. bulb — for light
  24. pitch — completely

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