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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: land · branch · object · clip · safe · pitcher · bat · field

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. field — for sport
  5. land — a country
  6. land — to come down
  7. object — to protest
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. object — a thing
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. branch — a division
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. field — a subject
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. clip — a video
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. object — an aim
  22. field — farmland
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. land — ground

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