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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: ground · bat · kid · club · scale · arm · pitch · branch

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. club — for golf
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. ground — a position
  6. bat — the animal
  7. club — a group
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kid — to tease
  12. ground — crushed
  13. kid — child
  14. pitch — completely
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. club — for dancing
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. branch — a division
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. ground — the earth
  24. scale — size or range

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