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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: staff · kid · root · branch · craft · degree · pitcher · pitch

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  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. staff — employees
  2. root — of a word
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. branch — a division
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. root — of a plant
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. staff — employees
  10. degree — temperature
  11. kid — to tease
  12. degree — from a university
  13. staff — a stick
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. craft — boats
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. craft — a skill
  21. kid — child
  22. root — the cause
  23. branch — of a tree
  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