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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: pitch · hand · wake · fine · branch · ball · content · row

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. hand — in cards
  6. content — happy
  7. row — a line
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. fine — all right
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pitch — completely
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. row — to paddle
  15. content — the amount
  16. fine — high quality
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. ball — a great time
  19. branch — a division
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. wake — a trail
  22. hand — help
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. row — a quarrel

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