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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: kid · pit · branch · face · pitch · board · last · net

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. face — to point toward
  3. last — finally
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. net — for catching
  7. pit — in a race
  8. last — to go on
  9. kid — child
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. pit — a hole
  12. net — after costs
  13. face — to confront
  14. net — in sport
  15. board — a committee
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. board — to get on
  19. branch — a division
  20. face — part of the head
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pitch — completely
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. last — final

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