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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 120 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: hide · coach · snap · bat · hand · pitch · branch · wound

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. branch — a division
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wound — an injury
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. hand — help
  24. coach — a trainer

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