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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: kick · branch · wound · staff · pit · bat · present · track

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. wound — an injury
  4. branch — a division
  5. bat — the animal
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. track — a song
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. pit — a hole
  11. present — a gift
  12. kick — in football
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. present — there
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. track — a path
  17. pit — in a race
  18. wound — an injury
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — a stick
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. staff — employees
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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