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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: branch · clip · lean · cabinet · racket · hand · pitch · race

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. race — a contest
  5. branch — a division
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pitch — completely
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. lean — to bend
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. clip — a video
  12. race — humankind
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. clip — to cut
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. race — the arms race
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. clip — for paper
  22. lean — thin
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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