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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: prune · board · charge · field · pitch · straw · branch · cell

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. pitch — completely
  3. field — farmland
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. charge — electricity
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. prune — to trim
  9. board — a committee
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cell — in biology
  13. charge — a price
  14. field — for sport
  15. charge — in control
  16. branch — a division
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. field — a subject
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. cell — a phone
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. board — to get on

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