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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: tube · prune · toast · pitch · file · cell · branch · bowl

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. branch — a division
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cell — a phone
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. toast — bread
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. file — a line of people
  11. cell — in biology
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. file — a document
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — a container
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. file — a tool
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — completely

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