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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: mate · track · bat · kick · branch · pitch · wind · object

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. branch — a division
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pitch — completely
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. wind — moving air
  11. track — a path
  12. object — to protest
  13. wind — moving air
  14. object — an aim
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — in football
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. track — a song
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a partner
  24. object — a thing

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