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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: pit · straw · branch · row · file · pitch · bowl · vault

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. vault — a safe
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. file — a tool
  8. row — a line
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pit — a hole
  13. file — a document
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. pit — in a race
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. pitch — completely
  23. row — to paddle
  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