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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: snap · roll · branch · pitch · court · fork · swing · bear

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. court — for sport
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. swing — music
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. branch — a division
  10. court — of law
  11. pitch — completely
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. fork — in a road
  14. bear — the animal
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. bear — the animal
  17. court — of a king
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. roll — a cake
  20. roll — a list
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. roll — on a roll

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