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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: cold · pitch · cell · field · roll · kick · branch · fine

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — in biology
  4. branch — a division
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. fine — all right
  7. cell — a phone
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. fine — high quality
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. field — for sport
  13. kick — in football
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. roll — a list
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. roll — a cake
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. cold — an illness
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. cold — not warm

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