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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: net · staff · branch · wave · bowl · cold · pitch · chair

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. staff — a stick
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. net — after costs
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. cold — not warm
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. net — for catching
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. branch — a division
  15. pitch — completely
  16. chair — a leader
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. net — in sport
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. pitch — a sports field

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