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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: club · branch · roll · clip · pitcher · pitch · chest · craft

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. pitch — completely
  3. clip — a video
  4. chest — a box
  5. craft — boats
  6. chest — of your body
  7. craft — a skill
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. chest — of your body
  10. club — a group
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. club — for dancing
  14. club — for golf
  15. clip — to cut
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. clip — for paper
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. roll — a list
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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