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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: branch · pitch · straw · track · arm · patient · wind · trunk

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. pitch — completely
  3. wind — moving air
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wind — moving air
  6. track — a path
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. track — a song
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. track — to keep track

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