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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 120 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: clip · branch · temple · bark · key · ground · hand · pitch

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. key — for a lock
  3. ground — a position
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. clip — a video
  10. key — the most important part
  11. hand — in cards
  12. ground — the earth
  13. pitch — completely
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. key — in music
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. branch — a division
  20. hand — help
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. bark — to shout

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